Gigabit City Glasgow - Holiday Inn Express Glasgow Theatreland

Background Owned by Maurice and Nicola Taylor, founders of Scottish hotel investment company Chardon Trading, the Holiday Inn Express on Glasgow’s West Nile Street is one of the city’s busiest budget hotels providing accommodation for up to 750 guests per night. As well as being located in the trendy Theatreland district close to Glasgow’s most popular arts and music venues, the hotel offers free Wi-Fi – a must for today’s data-hungry business and leisure travellers. Challenge Maurice and Nicola battled with BT Openreach for almost three years to secure a fibre connection to their Holiday Inn premises, despite the hotel’s central G1 postcode. As a result of their difficult experience, they sought an alternative provider to connect their neighbouring Holiday Inn Express facility in Theatreland. For a busy hotel competing with a number of other city centre accommodation providers, this was a major problem - guests now expect connectivity at least as fast as that enjoyed at home, making fast, reliable Wi-Fi a deal breaker for many potential customers. In fact, it is now common for travellers to check Wi-Fi scores before booking. Solution Launched in 2016, CityFibre’s Gigabit Glasgow project provided the ultimate solution for Maurice and Nicola. Not only could the premises access a fibre connection delivered by CityFibre partner ISP, HighNet, it was one of the first in the city to enjoy Gigabit speed broadband enabled by 100 per cent fibre infrastructure. [caption id="attachment_4656" align="alignright" width="233"] Nicola Taylor, Owner of Chardon Trading[/caption] Being able to offer ultrafast internet connectivity has resulted in fewer customer complaints and more return guests, giving Holiday Inn Express Glasgow Theatreland that must-have competitive edge over neighbouring city hoteliers. Speaking of her experience to date, Nicola commented: “Reliable, ultrafast connectivity is as important to our guests as a comfortable bed and a hot shower – without it, we wouldn’t have a business. “Previously, we were unable to secure an ultrafast fibre connection – we have been waiting for almost three years - so the launch of Glasgow’s Gigabit City project has transformed the wi-fi service we can provide to our guests. The feedback has been fantastic and we look forward to welcoming new and return business and leisure customers who depend on the quality service we can provide.”