CIS 505 Week 9 Case Study 3 Submission Choice Hotels International

Running head: CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL: CASE STUDY 3

Choice Hotels International

CIS 505

March 8, 2019

Strayer University

Choice Hotels International 2

Access two distinct networking functions

Choice Hotels International supports two distinct networking functions; In-house

networking functions, and Guest Internet Access functions. Traditionally in the hospitality

industry companies separated networks that served guests and those that served operations and

administration functions. Choice’s dedicated IP network was supplied by two geostationary

satellites based at separate hub to support its North America operations (Stallings, 2009). The

following is a breakdown of the company’s two distinct networking functions:

� In-house networking – Choice franchises more than 6100 hotels and over 490,000 rooms.

To support its enterprise, Choice uses a central Web site which allows customers the

ability to reserve rooms at any franchise online. Due to online travel sales worldwide

increasing by double digits and online booking reaching $189.62 billion in 2017

(Simunic, 2018), implementation of web booking was crucial for the company to stay

competitive. The global reservation system was updated from a manual synchronization

process with local reservations to a fully intergraded central system. For the fully

intergraded system to function every U.S based hotel was connected to a franchise-wide

IP network.

� Guest Internet services – In 2004 the company implemented free high-speed Internet

access for its guest in some of its many hotels using 3Com equipment. This service used

wireless and/or wired access. For wireless access the hotels used 3Com Wi-Fi network

for its guests which provided Web speed up to 54 Mbps. Guest using wired access were

able to plug into 3Com’s LAN working bridges for connectivity (Stallings, 2009).

Choice Hotels International mandate was to consolidate multiple functions that were

currently being provided by many single use services. The company’s decision to implement

Choice Hotels International 3

this consolidation in phases may have been attributed to several factors; cost, operations

capability, and technology at the time. For example, the company chose to use Wide and Spot

beam satellites, several ground-based hubs, and VSATs for every hotel in its North America

operations. Today’s technology could provide the IP network solution Choice needed for all its

hotels at a lower cost, more quickly, and less intrusive on daily operations (Stallings, 2009).

Probable issues when expanding the network

Choice International chose to use a dedicated IP network using two geostationary satellite

based at separate hub for its North America operations. Though this structure may have sufficed

for U.S based operations, it would require additional resources before it could have the global

reach the company needed. Some probable issues the company would face in expanding its

network globally would have been deploying its current TCP/IP private network globally.

The company’s U.S based IP network was straightforward and provided the operational

means required. However, complexity arises when an organization wants to interconnect with

the global Internet using the satellite - VSAT structure. This complexity is due to the nature of

various routing protocols such as Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) and Multi-Protocol Label

Switching (MPLS). BGP allows large intranets, which are private TCP/IP networks, to

interconnect with one another without introducing undesirable interactions and the potential for

instability and confusion with IP addresses. Because its US operations did not have to contend

with this issue, the company had to configure best options for global IP interconnections using it

existing platform (Bansal, 2004).

Another concern for Choice would be which type of hub arrangement would be best for its

global operations. Users of VSAT star networks have two avenues open to use: the dedicated hub

Choice Hotels International 4

or the shared hub. The dedicated hub is owned by the network user and operated solely for the

benefit of that user. The shared hub is owned and operated by the service provider. The service

provided hub operates for the benefit of multiple user networks. Establishing the hub structure

globally represented a major investment and commitment to operate a complex

telecommunication facility. Choice International’s management had to consider which operations

would be best for the duration of the network lifetime. (Bansal, 2004).

Security concerns of high-speed Internet for guest services

Choice Hotels International began offering free high-speed Internet access for guest in

some of its hotels using 3Com equipment. This free service offered built-in encryption and

support multiple security options to safeguard data over the wireless network. Although this

built-in encryption offered some security, there are still many flaws in their network topology

which could allow for exploitation by malicious users. Research at the time indicated that about

one hotel in five used an antiquated hub-based network, a type of arrangement that is inherently

flawed in terms of security, for guest-based services (Ogle, 2008). The most basic network

configuration is the use of a hub to handle traffic. Although this is the least expensive method, it

is also the least secure.

Additional methods that could be employed to provide better security for guest services

are virtual local area networks (VLANs), separate secure routers, and firewalls. By setting up a

VLAN which works like an intranet within the internal network, only computers on the network

are permits access. This would prevent any information from another user’s network from passes

through guest of the hotel’s computer, minimizing the chances for ARP spoofing and other

hacks.

Choice Hotels International 5

References

Bansal, N. (2004). VSAT Networks for Interactive Applications

Retrieved from: https://www.thesisscientist.com/docs/Dr.NaveenBansal/005d61f8-0394-

4f26-b3ca-4da7ce54d5b3.pdf

Olge, J. (2008). Hotel Network Security: A Study of Computer Networks in U.S. Hotels: Center

for Hospitality Research Publications

Retrieved from:

https://scholarship.sha.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1104&context=chrpubs

Simunic, M. (2018). The Level of Hotel Reservation Synchronization Processes Using

Information Technology Tools. ResearchGate

Retrieved from:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327393657_the_level_of_hotel_reservation_sy

nchronization_processes_using_information_technology_tools

Stallings, W. (2009). Business Data Communications, 6th Ed.

Pearson Education, Inc., Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458