AUSTIN & SURROUNDING CITIES · HOTEL PHONE SYSTEM GUIDE
Replacing an aging PBX or retiring analog service takes more than counting guest-room phones. A hotel must identify every room, front desk, common-area, administrative, and emergency connection before it changes the call path. Use this guide to build the inventory and plan a controlled migration.
Document the current system and the desired result. Some hotels can reuse handsets or wiring; others need new equipment or a hybrid period. Record these quantities before choosing a platform:
Guest rooms: For each room type, note whether the current set is analog or SIP/IP, whether the wiring is CAT3, CAT5, or newer, and whether the existing phone can be reused. Record one-line or two-line needs, speakerphone, corded and cordless units per room, bathroom phones, and extra phones in suites. Confirm whether guest-room lines terminate in the main distribution frame (MDF) and whether in-room DSL or other services share the infrastructure.
House phones: Count locations in the lobby, guest laundry, business center, breakfast area, pool, gym, elevator landings, and meeting rooms. Distinguish wall or desk phones from conference or speakerphones. Record any enclosed or specially protected pool and gym devices, plus miscellaneous locations.
Office and admin phones: Count front desk, GM, AGM, sales, back of house, housekeeping, maintenance, restaurant, and other department phones. Note whether these phones have already been upgraded to IP since the original PBX was installed.
Elevator landing phones: Count each landing device by floor, elevator bank, and location. For every press-to-call button, document where the call goes today: a staffed front desk, answering service, emergency service, or another destination. Record what happens after hours, if the first destination does not answer, and if internet or building power fails. Verify whether the device is an elevator-landing, area-of-refuge, or other required two-way communication station; these can have different design and testing obligations.
In-car elevator phones: Inventory these separately from landing phones. Coordinate any changes with the elevator service company and the applicable inspector or authority. Confirm who answers, how the car and building are identified, and how the connection is tested.
Pool emergency phones: Count each emergency phone at pools, spas, or adjacent areas separately from a normal pool house phone. Record its location, how a guest activates it, the destination it calls, the after-hours answer and escalation path, and the power or service it depends on. Test the replacement with the property and responsible vendors before retiring its old line.
Other life-safety lines: Identify fire alarm, security panel, door entry, and any similar endpoints. Keep the responsible vendors involved. Do not disconnect an existing line until the replacement path and required testing have been approved for that device.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation provides the applicable elevator rules, and the U.S. Access Board explains in-car emergency communication requirements. The exact requirements for a specific device should be confirmed for the property.
A working phone depends on its supporting network and power. Plan and test those dependencies before cutover.
Ask whether Property Management System (PMS) integration is required and record the PMS name, version, and support contact. Define the workflows the hotel actually needs: check-in and checkout phone privileges, guest voicemail reset, automated wake-up calls, housekeeping room status, call accounting, and guest messaging. Each feature depends on the specific PMS, phone platform, interface, and licensing.
Map what happens when a room changes, a guest checks out early, or the integration is offline. See our hotel phone system page for more on PMS-connected calling.
For a replacement multiline telephone system, review direct 911 dialing, notification, and dispatchable location requirements. The FCC explains these MLTS requirements; implementation should be checked for the property and system being installed.
BCS can help hotels in Austin, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Leander, Buda, and surrounding cities document the old system, review cabling and network readiness, and plan the phone changeover with the teams responsible for emergency devices.
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