Global Gossip Case Study
Xanterra Parks & Resorts
GX2 Does the Difficult Stuff Well
Xanterra Parks & Resorts operates lodging and restaurant facilities at some of the most beautiful places on earth the USA's spectacular national and state parks, including Yellowstone, Death Valley and the Grand Canyon.
“Our previous equipment in Death Valley melted four months after being installed. GX2 was the only
provider that was able to deliver a solid solution.” John Wimmer, CIO Xanterra.
The Problem.
Xanterra has the challenge of providing Wi-Fi solutions for
their guests and employees in these beautiful, remote areas
of the United States. Temperatures consistently exceed 120
degrees Fahrenheit at Furnace Creek, Death Valley in the
summer and stay below 40 degrees below zero in the winter
in Yellowstone National Park. In addition, bandwidth is always problematic at these remote locations due to limited facilities, dependence on radio solutions, and costly expansion
builds. Xanterra wasn’t able to deliver reliable Wi-Fi for the
staff, much less provide internet for their park guests. This
was leading to costly staff retention issues that went well beyond IT’s control.
Xanterra needed a partner to help design a solution that would withstand the brutal environmental demands,
maximize through put with limited internet facilities, and provide a solution to manage the demands of their staff
as well as guests.
The Challenge.
After being told it couldn’t be done by most
of the leading Wi-Fi management providers, Xanterra called GX2. Xanterra
challenged GX2 to provide a solution for
their site with the most complaints and
biggest challenges, Furnace Creek at
Death Valley. John Wimmer, Xanterra CIO
recalls saying, “If they can make our properties at Death Valley work, they can make
all our locations work. There was no cell
tower. The 1.5MB Internet circuit died the
day it was turned up. The Access Points installed by the previous provider melted in the first four months. Employee retention was becoming a big issue.
We didn’t need a vendor, we needed a partner to help solve the problem.”
GX2 Case Study
Xanterra Parks & Resorts
The Solution.
GX2’s team understood the challenge. They quickly started researching and testing AP equipment certified to
withstand the high and low temperature requirements. Their engineers deployed bandwidth management
tools to traffic shape and deliver more throughput during high volume, peak usage times. The implementation
team worked on specific issues in dead spots to gain continual improvements for complete coverage. GX2
redesigned the infrastructure to deliver a solution that maximized the resources available to solve Xanterra’s
complaints.
With the same focus and dedication, GX2 was able to resolve additional challenges with bandwidth
limitations, lack of infrastructure and environmental issues when deploying the Wi-Fi solution at Xanterra’s other
properties at Yellowstone, Zion, Crater Lake National Parks.
The Results.
“GX2 was willing to go beyond our expectations to
deliver the results Xanterra needed,” said Wimmer. “Employee Wi-Fi complaints were dramatically reduced. Turnover with
seasonal staff significantly decreased as well. We were able to
retain our quality staff, virtually eliminate complaints and as a
result reduce costs.”
Xanterra is now able to provide reliable Wi-Fi for their 3500 staff
members as well as the 20 million annual guests in their parks.
GX2 handles all the management and guest access
on-boarding directly from their help desk. “I can’t remember the last comment card with a guest access issue.
GX2 put in the time and effort to do it right. They were willing to go beyond our expectations," said Wimmer.
GX2 is now Xanterra’s sole provider for guest and employee Wi-Fi access at all of Xanterra’s National Parks
and State Parks including Yellowstone, South Rim at Grand Canyon, Crater Lake, Furnace Creek at Death
Valley, Glacier, Mount Rushmore, Rocky Mountain and Zion National Parks, as well as Kings Mill Resort and
many Ohio State Parks.
gx2technology.com
GX2, formerly known as Global Gossip, is a global Managed Service Provider offering networks for high-end,
corporate and international businesses since 1997. We were awarded Ruckus Hospitality Partner of the Year
2013. GX2 has offices in Sydney, Australia; London, England; Denver, USA; and Fiji, Pacific Islands.