Epub: a host of benefits

THE MARCH of progress continues at Regent Inns where 100 sites are using all-singing, all-dancing technology that offers customers free internet access and gives staff access to internet-based phone calls as well as providing a host of other functions.

It's all part of a trial of a system at the heart of which is a sophisticated set of inter-linked phones, and which is only just becoming affordable to pubs thanks to the advent of 'hosted' telephony.

Running calls over the internet, rather than through conventional phone lines, has typically been the domain of businesses with large numbers of phones - hotels, for example. All the functions of a phone, such as voicemail, call waiting and transferring calls, are run by the client's provider.

Hosted technology means all this comes from a central shared resource. Essentially, it can be done cheaper, and pubs - from managed chains such as Regent Inns through to independent freeholders - can access high-tech functions.

It has given the Walkabout and Old Orleans operator access to wireless internet, free telephone calls between sites and, for customers, internet access under systems that give credit for drinks bought.

Individuals can manage settings such as voicemail messages and forwarding functions remotely via the internet. Mobiles can be twinned to landlines so that the first can double as the latter while you are out and about.

Additional features​

There is also scope for staff to carry portable units to that might be used for internal communication or as Chip & PIN terminals. Potentially it could also be a means for customers to signal to staff that table service is required, through buttons on tables. A by-product of providing customers with internet access through the system is that Regent Inns gathers a database of email addresses, which can be used for marketing purposes.

Ian Bevington of Mitel, the company behind the development, which is also working with other pubcos such as JD Wetherspoon, Greene King and Whitbread, describes hosted telephony as "more feature-rich".

"By putting everything in a central site and sharing the facilities it gives you a lot more options than companies that host the solution themselves can't usually achieve," he says.

As Ian explains, the system is within the reach of independent operators, costing from around £80 for the broadband application, four phones and Wi-Fi.

"If you are running a pub with several phones, and living down the road, you probably want to stay in touch at all times," he points out. "You'd probably want an extension at home and a mobile twinning system so you can access your phones on your mobile when you're in the cash & carry."

All this is possible as telephone lines become a thing of the past.