Inventing the wheel

In my last post here, I was listing some of the ways that things can go if you have to build your war room in a hotel. I want to take some time and talk about the first two in that list. Specifically, I am going to write about how to work through some of the issues you’ll face when you are tasked with getting things set up in a place that has never done this before, or not on the scale you need.

Now is the time you’re going to have to be like a certain cat and open your bag of tricks. This is especially the time to put your soft skills to work because the next period of time will be about making connections with people and negotiating to create a win/win situation. It isn’t as daunting as it may seem, you just have to work through your list of things that have to get done and make those connections. Better start now!

What kind of problems do you have to solve? If the hotel doesn’t have the bandwidth for your team, you have to come to some type of agreement on how you can bring in your own. That leads to the next issue, who are you going to get that bandwidth from and what do you need to get done to make that happen?

First problem to work through…..you’ll have to work with someone at the hotel that has the authority to allow you to get some bandwidth installed. Most of the time this won’t be a deal breaker, but I have run into a few hotels that just don’t want to let you do anything that isn’t already available in the hotel. If the hotel is agreeable, then you can move on to the next steps. If they don’t want to allow you to provide what your team needs, then move on to my post (I’ll add a link soon when I get that one written and posted) about mixing it up.

So, you got permission to bring in some bandwidth. Now what? I would recommend that you ask that same person in the hotel if they know about who is providing the access they already have. You might just be able to get them to provide you another drop, or if they have different interfaces on their equipment, they might be able to give you some boosted bandwidth and segregate it for your use. Barring that, it might be time to start searching for alternatives. This is the second thing you have to get worked out.

One of my personal favorites is cable internet access. The primary reason I like cable is that they can usually give a lot of bandwidth and it doesn’t take them long to get it installed. Of course, your firm is going to have to foot the bill for the install, recall from an earlier post that you are trying to make this as painless as possible for your hosts so that they will agree to let you get done what you need to get done. You’re also going to pay the bill for the access you use with this new service, and you’re going to have it turned off when you’re done. The router will stay in the hotel, so that other firms that follow (or yours, if you come back) can benefit from the groundwork being laid.

Another option for internet access I’ve had great success with is access with high speed wireless, where the provider usually puts an antenna on the roof of the hotel and provides a place to patch in at the demarc. Install can be expensive, but you know you’ve got the bandwidth for (usually) the month and you won’t be sharing it with anyone.

If you will have to work with a phone company, you better start early. My experience over the years is that things move at a glacial pace with phone providers, and you might not even get it in time for the trial. Maybe things have changed.

Next post will be about the fortunate circumstance you may find yourself in where things are already in place. Stay tuned.