Case Study: Mandarin Oriental achieves doubled Wi‑Fi capacity and 75% fewer guest complaints with RUCKUS Networks

Mandarin Oriental Takes Wi-Fi Off the DAS and Puts it into the Wall to Transform its Flagship NY Hotel

Mandarin Oriental’s flagship New York hotel faced a growing Wi‑Fi crisis: its original DAS‑based wireless, optimized for cellular, delivered weak coverage (‑80 to ‑85 dBm) and couldn’t keep up as guest and staff use of tablets, smartphones and IP services jumped past 50%. With limited in‑room cabling and plans to move phones, TVs and service apps to IP, the hotel needed pervasive, higher‑capacity Wi‑Fi that was secure and easy to manage.

The hotel deployed Ruckus ZoneFlex 7025 in‑wall Wi‑Fi switches in every room plus dual‑band and single‑band ZoneFlex APs and redundant ZoneDirector controllers, centrally monitored by XETA Hospitality. The rollout eliminated the need for new room cabling, doubled Wi‑Fi capacity and usage (with traffic rising up to 50× over two years), improved signal to around ‑65 dBm, and cut guest complaints by about 75%, enabling new services like tablet check‑in and in‑room media streaming.

Mandarin Oriental

David Heckaman

VP of Technology