Blogs Archives | Fourteen IP https://14ip.com/us/blog/category/blogs/ Hotel AI and Cloud Telephony Specialists Thu, 26 Feb 2026 11:05:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.1 https://14ip.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Website-Favicon-100x100.png Blogs Archives | Fourteen IP https://14ip.com/us/blog/category/blogs/ 32 32 The Evolution of EVA: Smarter AI Insights for Hotels https://14ip.com/us/blog/smarter-insights-for-smarter-hotels/ Thu, 12 Feb 2026 10:01:42 +0000 https://14ip.com/?p=39467 The Evolution of EVA: Smarter Insights for Smarter Hotels AI in hospitality is evolving. Hotels are no longer simply asking whether AI can reduce call volumes – they want to...

The post The Evolution of EVA: Smarter AI Insights for Hotels appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>
The Evolution of EVA: Smarter Insights for Smarter Hotels

AI in hospitality is evolving. Hotels are no longer simply asking whether AI can reduce call volumes – they want to understand how it performs, where it adds value, and how it supports both guests and staff across the organisation.

That shift is exactly what has driven the evolution of the EVA Hotel AI customer portal.

Shaped directly by customer feedback and real operational use, the new portal delivers clearer metrics, deeper insight, and a far more strategic view of EVA’s impact – at both property and group level.

This isn’t a reinvention of EVA. It’s a smarter, more transparent way to see it working.

From headline numbers to meaningful insight

Traditional AI metrics often focus on broad call-reduction claims. While useful, they rarely tell the full story.

The new EVA portal introduces more precise and transparent performance measures, including call containment – calls that start and finish with EVA without human involvement. This allows hotels to clearly distinguish between:

  • Workload removed from the front desk
  • Queries fully resolved by EVA
  • Calls that still require human interaction

Together, these metrics provide a realistic, credible view of EVA’s contribution, enabling better decisions and clearer ROI conversations.

Understanding guest demand – not just call volume

The enhanced portal gives hotels visibility into what guests are actually asking for, not just how often they call.

Key insights include:

  • Most common topics and questions
  • Service items and requests raised as tickets
  • Unrecognised queries that EVA couldn’t answer
  • Reasons calls are transferred to staff

This insight turns EVA into a continuous improvement tool, helping hotels refine information, adjust operations, and keep EVA aligned as the property changes – from renamed venues to seasonal events.

Supporting staff, not replacing them

Hospitality remains fundamentally human. EVA’s purpose is to remove friction, not replace people.

By handling repetitive, low-value queries end-to-end, EVA reduces pressure on front desk and guest services teams. Even when calls are transferred, EVA routes them intelligently, minimising disruption and freeing staff to focus on meaningful guest interactions.

The new portal makes this value visible, clearly showing how EVA protects staff time while improving service consistency.

Built for real-world hotel demand

Hotels rarely operate under ideal conditions. Call volumes spike, staffing fluctuates, and busy periods are unpredictable.

The portal’s concurrent call insights highlight a key strength of EVA: it scales instantly.

Multiple guests can call simultaneously and still receive immediate assistance – without hold music, voicemail, or unanswered calls.

For guests, this means a smoother experience. For hotels, it means resilience when it matters most.

A dashboard designed for everyday use

Customer feedback shaped the portal’s redesign. Information is now organised into clear, intuitive tabs, making it easy to explore:

  • Call volumes and durations
  • Internal vs external calls
  • Time-of-day trends
  • Transfer destinations and messaging activity

Whether used daily or periodically, the portal is built to be practical, accessible, and easy to understand.

Proactive performance monitoring with scheduled reporting

To support long-term success, the portal includes automated scheduled reports delivered directly to inboxes.

Rather than relying on manual logins, hotels can monitor EVA performance over time, spot changes early, and maintain consistent results – ensuring EVA continues to deliver value well beyond the initial rollout.

Group-level insight for brands, management companies and owners

For hotel brands, management companies, and ownership groups, the new EVA portal unlocks an even greater level of strategic value.

With visibility across multiple properties, stakeholders can:

  • Compare performance across hotels within a brand or portfolio
  • Identify which properties are achieving high levels of call containment and guest self-service
  • Spot hotels with lower engagement or higher transfer rates that may need additional support or optimisation
  • Understand common guest needs and trends across regions or brands

This group-level insight makes it easier to benchmark performance, share best practice, and focus resources where they will have the greatest impact. Rather than relying on anecdotal feedback or isolated reports, brands gain a consistent, data-driven view of how guest engagement is performing across their estate.

Built to evolve as hotels evolve

Hotels change constantly – staff move on, venues are rebranded, events come and go.

By surfacing unrecognised queries and emerging trends, the portal highlights when EVA needs updating, ensuring it stays accurate, relevant, and aligned with real-world operations at both property and group level.

Data that goes beyond the dashboard

For deeper analysis, EVA data can be exported for use in business intelligence tools. This allows brands and owners to combine EVA insights with wider operational and guest experience data, supporting more informed strategic decisions.

Leading the way with realistic, responsible hotel AI

The evolution of the EVA customer portal reflects a broader shift in hotel AI – away from hype, and towards clarity, credibility, and measurable value.

EVA isn’t about automating everything or removing human interaction. It’s about handling the right interactions at the right time – and making that value visible across individual hotels and entire portfolios.

With enhanced insights, customer-led improvements, and powerful group-level reporting, the new EVA portal sets a new benchmark for how hotel AI should be delivered, measured, and understood.

To learn more about EVA AI, and how it can benefit your property, speak to a member of our team.

The post The Evolution of EVA: Smarter AI Insights for Hotels appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>
Modern Communications for Hotel Management Companies https://14ip.com/us/blog/why-hotel-managers-are-rethinking-communications/ Wed, 04 Feb 2026 10:34:14 +0000 https://14ip.com/?p=39410 Why Hotel Management Companies Are Rethinking Communications For hotel management companies, communications technology has traditionally been treated as a property-level decision. As long as calls were answered and systems stayed...

The post Modern Communications for Hotel Management Companies appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>
Why Hotel Management Companies Are Rethinking Communications

For hotel management companies, communications technology has traditionally been treated as a property-level decision. As long as calls were answered and systems stayed online, little attention was paid to what sat behind the scenes.

That mindset is changing.

As portfolios grow across brands, regions, and ownership models, legacy communications technology is increasingly exposing management companies to portfolio-level risk, operational inconsistency, and hidden cost.

Legacy systems create portfolio risk

Many hotel groups still operate a mix of on-premise PBX systems, regional vendors, and ageing infrastructure. While this may function at an individual property level, it creates risk when viewed across an entire portfolio.

Inconsistent platforms mean:

  • Limited visibility into performance and outages
  • Increased dependency on local vendors and on-site hardware
  • Higher exposure during peak demand periods or operational surges

For management companies responsible for brand standards, service levels, and reputation, this fragmented approach makes it difficult to maintain control at scale.

Inconsistency impacts both operations and guest experience

When each property operates on different communications systems, service delivery becomes inconsistent. Call handling, response times, and guest interactions can vary significantly from hotel to hotel – even within the same brand.

For management companies, this inconsistency affects:

  • Guest experience and satisfaction scores
  • Brand compliance and audits
  • Staff training and operational efficiency

Standardising communications across the portfolio allows management teams to deliver a more consistent experience, regardless of location or flag.

The hidden cost of decentralised technology

Legacy and decentralised systems often appear cost-effective on paper, but the true cost is rarely visible.

Multiple vendors, unpredictable maintenance, hardware replacements, and support contracts drive up OpEx over time. Add to this the operational burden placed on property teams, and the cost becomes both financial and organisational.

Centralised, cloud-based communications provide management companies with:

  • Predictable cost models
  • Simplified vendor management
  • Reduced reliance on on-site hardware

Central control enables scalability

As management companies expand into new regions or take on additional properties, communications technology must scale quickly and reliably.

Centralised platforms allow technology standards to be deployed consistently across new hotels, enabling faster onboarding, easier upgrades, and better long-term planning without disrupting operations.

A shift from property-level tools to portfolio strategy

Communications is no longer just a utility. For hotel management companies, it has become a strategic component of how portfolios are managed, risks are mitigated, and guest experience is protected at scale.

By moving towards standardised, centrally managed communications platforms, management companies gain greater control, improved consistency, and the flexibility needed to support growth across brands and regions.

To learn more about scalable hotel communications for management companies & ownership groups, download our guide.

To see how 14IP can benefit your properties or portfolio, speak to a member of our team. 

The post Modern Communications for Hotel Management Companies appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>
Introducing the New EVA Customer Portal https://14ip.com/us/blog/introducing-the-new-eva-customer-portal/ Tue, 27 Jan 2026 14:31:02 +0000 https://14ip.com/?p=39363 The post Introducing the New EVA Customer Portal appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>

A Feature-Rich View of Hotel AI Performance, Guest Demand and Operational Impact

As part of our continuous innovation ethos, we are rolling out a new and improved customer portal for our hotel AI solution EVA (Evolution Virtual Agent™).

The new EVA customer portal has been designed to give hotels, brands and management companies a detailed, transparent view of how EVA is performing in real operational conditions.

Rather than relying on high-level claims, the portal provides feature-level insight into call handling, guest behaviour, automation performance and operational workflows – allowing teams to understand not just what EVA is doing, but why it matters.

Below is a detailed look at the key features of the new EVA portal, and the tangible benefits each one delivers.

Core Performance Dashboard

What it shows:

  • Total call volumes
  • Calls answered by EVA
  • Calls transferred or overflowed
  • Overall handling performance

What it delivers:
A single, consolidated view of EVA’s performance that replaces guesswork with clarity. Hotel teams can instantly see how many calls EVA is handling, how much pressure it is removing from the front desk, and whether call volumes are being managed effectively – without needing to dig into multiple reports. This makes EVA’s contribution visible at a glance and provides a reliable starting point for performance conversations.

Call Reduction Reporting

What it shows:

  • Calls EVA removes from the front desk workload
  • Calls routed directly to the correct department

What it delivers:
Clear evidence of how EVA reduces operational load, even when it doesn’t fully resolve the guest query. By handling initial interactions and routing calls intelligently, EVA prevents unnecessary interruptions to guest services staff, helping teams work more efficiently and stay focused during busy periods.

Call Containment Metrics

What it shows:

  • Calls that start and finish with EVA
  • No human involvement at any stage

What it delivers:
A precise, credible measure of EVA’s true automation value. Call containment highlights where EVA independently resolves guest queries end to end, helping hotels understand where AI is genuinely saving time and resources – without overstating automation in a hospitality environment that still depends on people.

Call Answer Rate & Overflow Handling

What it shows:

  • Calls answered by EVA
  • Calls overflowed due to demand
  • Transfer behaviour when capacity is exceeded

What it delivers:
Confidence that guest calls are always answered. When demand spikes, EVA ensures calls are handled or intelligently transferred rather than dropped or sent to voicemail. This protects guest experience, reduces frustration, and prevents lost opportunities during peak check-in, check-out, or event-driven surges.

Internal vs External Call Breakdown

What it shows:

  • Calls from guest rooms
  • Calls to the hotel’s main number

What it delivers:
A clearer understanding of guest behaviour at different stages of the stay. Hotels can see how in-house guests and external callers are using EVA, helping teams tailor information, refine messaging, and better support both pre-arrival and in-stay experiences.

EVA Call Times

Call Length & Time-of-Day Analysis

What it shows:

  • Average call duration
  • Total call time
  • Call volumes by time of day

What it delivers:
Insight into when demand is highest and which interactions take the longest to resolve. This helps hotels identify peak pressure points, understand staffing challenges, and assess whether EVA is handling the right types of calls at the right times.

Concurrent Call Tracking

What it shows:

  • Number of calls handled simultaneously

What it delivers:
Clear proof of EVA’s ability to scale instantly. Unlike front desk teams, EVA can handle multiple calls at the same time, ensuring guests are answered immediately even during high-demand periods. This feature highlights EVA’s role as a safety net when staffing levels are stretched.

EVA Transfers and SMS

Call Transfer Destination Reporting

What it shows:

  • Departments and contact centres receiving transferred calls

What it delivers:
Visibility into call flows across the organisation. Hotels can see exactly where calls are being sent, identify bottlenecks, and understand whether certain departments are receiving unnecessary volume – creating opportunities to refine automation or update routing logic.

SMS Interaction Tracking

What it shows:

  • SMS messages sent by EVA during guest interactions

What it delivers:
Insight into how EVA supports guests beyond voice calls. SMS tracking helps hotels understand how messaging is being used to share information, confirm requests, or resolve issues quickly – improving response times and guest convenience.

Unrecognised Utterances Reporting

What it shows:

  • Guest queries EVA does not currently recognise

What it delivers:
A clear, actionable improvement list. Rather than guessing what EVA needs to learn next, hotels can see exactly where information is missing or outdated – ensuring that the AI stays aligned with changing operations, new staff, renamed venues, and seasonal events.

Handoff Reason Analysis

What it shows:

  • The most common reasons calls are transferred to staff

What it delivers:
Understanding of where human interaction is still essential. This helps hotels balance automation with service quality, ensuring EVA supports staff without attempting to automate interactions that are better handled by people.

Matched Topic Reporting

What it shows:

  • Topics EVA successfully recognises and resolves

What it delivers:
Clear evidence of where EVA is delivering consistent value. Hotels can see which guest questions are being handled well and use this insight to prioritise future enhancements or replicate success across other properties.

EVA Top Requests

Item Requests & Ticket Creation

What it shows:

  • Service requests raised by guests
  • Tickets created via EVA integrations

What it delivers:
Direct visibility into how guest conversations translate into action. This feature connects guest engagement with operational workflows, showing how EVA doesn’t just answer calls – it drives service delivery.

Scheduled Reporting

What it shows:

  • Automated reports delivered at chosen intervals

What it delivers:
Ongoing performance visibility without manual effort. Scheduled reporting keeps EVA performance front of mind, helps teams spot trends early, and ensures optimisation continues long after launch.

Data Export

What it shows:

  • Downloadable performance and interaction data

What it delivers:
Flexibility for deeper analysis. Hotels and brands can combine EVA data with other operational or guest experience metrics, supporting more informed, data-driven decisions.

Call Transcript Access (With Privacy Controls)

What it shows:

  • Detailed transcripts of guest interactions

What it delivers:
Full transparency into guest conversations when needed, while maintaining strict privacy standards. This helps teams understand context, validate performance, and support training or optimisation initiatives.

Role-Based & Multi-Property Access

What it shows:

  • Authorised hotel and portfolio-level views

What it delivers:
Secure, scalable visibility for individual properties, brands, management companies and ownership groups – enabling consistent reporting and comparison across multiple hotels from a single portal.

Real Time Views or Scheduled Reports

The new EVA customer portal gives you complete flexibility in how you access performance data. You can view reports and dashboards live at any time, explore real-time insights as they happen, or set up scheduled reports to be emailed automatically.

Reports can be sent to any number of recipients, delivered at the frequency you choose, and paused or stopped at any time – ensuring the right people always have the right information, without creating extra work.

A Product Built for Practical Insight

The new EVA customer portal is a practical, feature-driven upgrade designed to make EVA’s performance easy to understand, easy to measure, and easy to improve.

Every feature has been built to deliver clarity, transparency and operational value – helping hotels get more from EVA every day.

See the EVA Portal in Action

Discover how the new EVA customer portal gives you clear visibility into guest demand, AI performance, and operational impact.

Book a live demonstration to see real data, real scenarios, and how EVA performs across individual hotels and entire portfolios.

👉 Book your live demo

The post Introducing the New EVA Customer Portal appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>
Why MICE Matters in Hospitality https://14ip.com/us/blog/mice/ Tue, 20 Jan 2026 11:23:39 +0000 https://14ip.com/?p=39338 MICE: Why it matters more than ever for hotels MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) has long been a crucial part of hotel revenue. But in today’s hospitality landscape, it...

The post Why MICE Matters in Hospitality appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>
MICE: Why it matters more than ever for hotels

MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) has long been a crucial part of hotel revenue. But in today’s hospitality landscape, it plays an even more critical role, driving occupancy, boosting average daily rates (ADR), and filling rooms during traditionally quieter periods.

Hotels that understand and prepare for the operational demands of MICE are best positioned to win this high-value business.

What is MICE?

MICE refers to organised group travel and events, usually booked by businesses or event organisers.

M – Meetings (Corporate meetings), board sessions training events)

I – Incentives (Reward based travel for employees/partners)

C – Conferences (Large scale events, typically run over multiple days e.g. World Cup 2026)

E – Exhibitions (Trade shows, industry showcases)

Unlike leisure guests, MICE guests are often on strict schedules and expect seamless coordination across every part of their stay.

Why MICE Is So Valuable for Hotels

MICE business is attractive because it delivers more than just room revenue. A single event booking can generate income across multiple departments and over several days.

Key benefits include:

  • Higher ADRs and longer average stays
  • Higher midweek occupancy
  • Increased revenue on food, beverage, and event-space
  • Repeat bookings through strong corporate and agency relationships

For many hotels and management groups, MICE is a core pillar of predictable, scalable revenue.

The Operational Pressure Behind MICE

While lucrative, MICE also places significant pressure on hotel operations. Hotel guests will have high expectations

During large events, hotels typically experience:

  • Spikes in call volumes and enquiries
  • Time-critical requests from organisers and delegates
  • Multiple decision-makers per booking
  • Low tolerance for delays, dropped calls, or miscommunication

Why Technology Plays a Critical Role

Successful MICE delivery depends on fast, reliable, and scalable technology. Hotels must be able to manage increased demand without overwhelming front-desk teams or compromising the guest experience.

MICE-ready hotels rely on:

  • Cloud-based communications that scale during peak periods
  • AI and automation to handle routine enquiries
  • Reliable internal and external call handling
  • Seamless coordination between departments

MICE exposes outdated technology, which is why it’s crucial your properties technology is future proof.

How 14IP Can Help

14IP is a global provider of AI-powered and cloud telephony solutions built specifically for hospitality.

We help hotels worldwide:

  • Streamline operations during peak demand
  • Reduce pressure on front-desk teams
  • Deliver faster, more consistent guest experiences
  • Scale communications for MICE, major events, and portfolio-wide growth

With technical excellence at our core and hospitality always in focus, 14IP supports hotels when performance matters most.

Speak to our team to learn how modern communications can support your property.

The post Why MICE Matters in Hospitality appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>
Why Hotel Telephony Is No Longer ‘Just a Phone System’ https://14ip.com/us/blog/why-hotel-telephony-is-no-longer-just-a-phone-system/ Tue, 13 Jan 2026 14:13:25 +0000 https://14ip.com/?p=39320 Business Development Executive George Steed shares thoughts on Why Hotel Telephony is No Longer ‘Just a Phone System’ One of our UK Business Development Executives George Steed shared some thoughts...

The post Why Hotel Telephony Is No Longer ‘Just a Phone System’ appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>
Business Development Executive George Steed shares thoughts on Why Hotel Telephony is No Longer ‘Just a Phone System’

One of our UK Business Development Executives George Steed shared some thoughts on Hotel Telephony.

For a long time, hotel telephony was treated as background infrastructure. If the phone rang and someone answered it, job done.

But that way of thinking doesn’t really work anymore.

Over the past few years, and especially looking ahead to 2026, I’ve noticed a clear shift. Hotel telephony is no longer just a utility sitting in the background. It’s becoming part of how hotels operate day to day and how they deliver guest experience.

Based on what I’m seeing across hospitality and cloud communications, here’s where I believe hotel telephony is heading.

Cloud Is Now the Starting Point

Cloud-hosted telephony used to be sold as an upgrade. Today, it’s increasingly the default.

Hotels want systems that are easier to manage, simpler to scale, and flexible enough to change as operations change. Owning and maintaining on-site phone hardware is becoming harder to justify when cloud platforms offer predictable costs and centralised control.

For multi-property groups especially, managing communications from a single platform is no longer a “nice to have”. It’s becoming essential.

Mobility Matters More Than Desk Phones

The traditional desk phone is slowly losing its importance.

Hotels are designing communications around how staff actually work, not where phones are bolted to a desk. Calls and service requests need to reach people wherever they are, whether that’s through a mobile app or a softphone.

In practice, this means faster responses, fewer missed calls, and better collaboration between teams. It also fits better with leaner staffing models and more flexible working patterns.

Fewer Calls, Higher Expectations

Guests may be calling less than they used to, but when they do, expectations are higher than ever.

They want quick answers, minimal transfers, and to reach the right person first time. Speed and simplicity now matter far more than call volume.

Because of this, telephony has become a high-impact channel rather than a high-usage one. When it goes wrong, the guest feels it immediately.

AI Will Take the Pressure Off, Not Replace People

AI is starting to play a bigger role in hotel telephony, but mostly in practical, behind-the-scenes ways.

Routine enquiries, basic information requests, and out-of-hours calls can increasingly be handled automatically. Smarter call routing can also help urgent issues reach the right team faster.

From what I’m seeing, the goal isn’t to remove the human touch. It’s to reduce pressure on staff and free them up to focus on the moments that really matter.

If It Doesn’t Integrate, It Gets Left Behind

Standalone phone systems are quickly becoming outdated.

Modern hotel telephony needs to integrate with PMS, CRM, and guest-facing apps to be part of a joined-up experience. When communications are connected, hotels gain better visibility, more context, and more consistent service delivery.

At that point, telephony stops being “just phones” and starts becoming a data-driven engagement tool.

Final Thought

Hotels that continue to treat telephony as a basic utility will fall behind. Those that see it as part of their wider operations and guest experience strategy will gain a real advantage.

In 2026 and beyond, hotel telephony isn’t really about the phone itself. It’s about how well hotels communicate, respond, and connect.

About the Author

You can learn more about the author George Steed on Linkedin.

The post Why Hotel Telephony Is No Longer ‘Just a Phone System’ appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>
How the 2026 World Cup Will Transform Hotels https://14ip.com/us/blog/how-the-2026-world-cup-will-transform-hotels/ Wed, 07 Jan 2026 13:28:17 +0000 https://14ip.com/?p=39294 How the 2026 World Cup Will Transform North American Hospitality – and Why Hotels Must Prepare Now The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest hospitality stress test in...

The post How the 2026 World Cup Will Transform Hotels appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>
How the 2026 World Cup Will Transform North American Hospitality – and Why Hotels Must Prepare Now

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest hospitality stress test in decades. With matches spread across 16 cities in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, the tournament will trigger:

  • Record hotel occupancy
  • Surges in international guests
  • Huge spikes in Wi-Fi and network usage
  • High volumes of guest queries before and during stays

Hotels must now consider whether their telephony, network, and guest-service operations can scale to World Cup levels.

Why It Matters

Without scalable infrastructure, an event of this size leads to dropped calls, slow response times, unstable connectivity, and frustrated guests, all of which directly impact online reviews and brand perception.

The 2026 World Cup raises the stakes even further. With matches distributed across 16 cities and multiple time zones, hotels will face sustained demand over several weeks rather than a single peak weekend. Guests will expect instant answers about match schedules, transportation, dining, streaming access, and late check-outs, often outside traditional service hours.

Technology That Helps Hotels Stay Ahead

AI automation, cloud communication systems, and high-density connectivity form the backbone of a world-cup-ready hotel. Solutions like 14IP’s EVA virtual agent can handle routine requests and questions like Match times, transport information and check-in & check-outs.

Behind the scenes, cloud communication platforms like Evolution Voice provide the flexibility legacy telephony systems simply cannot. Unlike traditional on-site PBX infrastructure, cloud voice scales on demand, ensuring call quality remains consistent even when thousands of guests are making simultaneous requests.

Our services ensure guests enjoy seamless, instant support throughout their stay is not just readiness for the World Cup, but a modernized guest experience that continues to deliver value long after the tournament ends.

The Opportunity

Hotels that prepare early can move beyond simply “coping” with demand and instead use the event to elevate the guest experience and operational efficiency.

Early preparation also enables hotels to deliver something guests increasingly value: frictionless service. Instant answers, reliable Wi-Fi, multilingual support, and consistent communication create memorable stays that translate into five-star reviews and repeat bookings. For international travellers experiencing North America for the first time, the hotel often becomes the benchmark for the entire trip.

Click here to find out more about the impact the World Cup could have on your property.

To see if your hotel is prepared for this once in a generation event, download our free World Cup readiness checklist.

The post How the 2026 World Cup Will Transform Hotels appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>
14IP Kicks Off 2026 with Major Asia Expansion https://14ip.com/us/blog/asia-expansion/ Mon, 05 Jan 2026 14:11:07 +0000 https://14ip.com/?p=39185 14IP Begins 2026 with Asia Expansion and Australasia Rollout Plans 14IP has begun 2026 with the successful launch of our core solutions across Asia, following a regional visit to Singapore...

The post 14IP Kicks Off 2026 with Major Asia Expansion appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>
14IP Begins 2026 with Asia Expansion and Australasia Rollout Plans

14IP has begun 2026 with the successful launch of our core solutions across Asia, following a regional visit to Singapore and the official go-live of Evolution Voice™ and EVA (Evolution Virtual Agent™) our hotel AI solution. Delivered through 14IP’s established partner network, the rollout enables hotels across Asia to access secure cloud communications and AI-powered guest engagement solutions.

With Evolution Voice, EVA and ComXchange now available throughout Asia, we have reached a key milestone in our global expansion strategy. The next phase of this rollout will take place in Australia later this year, where Evolution Voice and EVA will also go live. Once complete, 14IP’s full solution portfolio will be available across Australasia, supported by trusted regional partners.

This expansion builds on a landmark year for 14IP in 2025, which included new investment, a merger with Clearly IP, and accelerated international growth. That momentum continues into 2026, with new software and solutions planned for release, shaped by close collaboration with customers and partners, alongside further regional expansion.

Alongside growth, 14IP is placing strong emphasis on continuous improvement. Throughout 2026, we will invest further in platform resilience, service delivery, and support capabilities, supported by a steady programme of product enhancements. Ongoing investment in people, systems, and processes remains central to ensuring consistent, high-quality service for customers worldwide.

As 2026 progresses, we look forward to further strengthening our global presence and continuing to support hotels with secure, future-ready communications solutions.

The post 14IP Kicks Off 2026 with Major Asia Expansion appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>
Is Your Hotel PBX EOSL? Top Questions to Assess Risk & Compliance https://14ip.com/us/blog/important-questions-hotel-pbx-end-of-service-life/ Wed, 10 Dec 2025 08:12:28 +0000 https://14ip.com/?p=39037 Important Questions to ask when your hotel’s PBX is End of Service Life When a hotel PBX reaches End of Service Life (EOSL), the risks extend far beyond simple reliability...

The post Is Your Hotel PBX EOSL? Top Questions to Assess Risk & Compliance appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>
Important Questions to ask when your hotel’s PBX is End of Service Life

When a hotel PBX reaches End of Service Life (EOSL), the risks extend far beyond simple reliability issues. Without security patches, manufacturer support or replacement parts, legacy systems become vulnerable to outages, data breaches and rising maintenance costs.

At the same time, evolving brand standards, PCI requirements and the global retirement of PSTN/POTS lines mean that outdated PBXs can no longer meet the compliance expectations placed on modern hotels.

We’ve put together some questions you can use as a quick diagnostic to understand your hotel’s exposure and determine whether urgent action is required.

1. If your PBX failed tomorrow, who would replace it – and how quickly?

EOSL systems have no support from manufactures, meaning:

No guaranteed repair: Without vendor support, there is no formal repair pathway and no guaranteed fix. There are no longer structured recovery plans in place, just best effort guesses.

No access to new parts: Manufactures no longer produce and stock the components needed for EOSL systems. The parts become harder to find, prices increase, and they become even more unreliable.

Longer & more expensive downtime: With no official repair channels and limited parts available, outages tend to be longer, and small component failures can turn into multi day disruptions.

2. Are replacement parts available for your PBX and at what cost?

Legacy PBXs typically rely on second-hand or refurbished parts, leading to many challenges.

The required parts become harder to source and cost more than investing in modern technology. In addition, they take days to locate and ship, increasing outages and downtime costs.

When essential parts become ‘rare’ your PBX is effectively obsolete.

3. Is your PBX compatible with modern voice security standards?

Most EOSL PBX systems simply can’t meet today’s security requirements. They lack support for encrypted signalling (TLS) encrypted audio (SRTP), and secure handling of guest data, all of which are now baseline expectations in hospitality.

If your telephony system is used for taking payments, or if it integrates with your PMS, the lack of protections becomes a PCI compliance problem and a major security risk.

4. Are you compliant with emergency calling regulations?

Hotels in many regions must now meet strict emergency calling requirements, including:

Direct 911/112/999 dialling: Guests & staff must be able to call emergency services immediately, without dial prefixes or operator assistance, however many old PBX systems require you to dial ‘9’ or ‘0’ to reach outside lines.

On-site emergency notifications: When somebody dials an emergency number front desk/management/security, staff must be alerted immediately.  These alerts help responders reach the correct location quicker, but many old systems fail to generate or route these calls automatically.

Accurate dispatchable location (e.g., RAY BAUM’s Act): Regulations require that emergency services receive exact location information e,g building, floor, and room number. EOSL PBXs often fail to send this data, which can delay response times and lead to compliance issues.

 

If you answered ‘No’ or ‘I don’t know’ to any of these questions, your hotel is likely operating with significant risk.

14IP can assist you with our secure, PCI-compliant, brand-approved cloud telephony and POTS replacement solutions for hotels globally.

Book a free PBX EOSL risk assessment & identify vulnerabilities, compliance gaps, and your recommended upgrade path.

Download our full guide of 10 questions to ask if your hotel’s PBX is reaching End of Service Life.

The post Is Your Hotel PBX EOSL? Top Questions to Assess Risk & Compliance appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>
Why hotels can’t ignore PBX End of Service Life https://14ip.com/us/blog/why-hotels-cant-ignore-pbx-end-of-service-life/ Thu, 27 Nov 2025 11:40:07 +0000 https://14ip.com/?p=39032 Why Hotels Can’t Ignore PBX End of Service Life (EOSL) How 14IP Keeps You Secure, Compliant and Guest-Ready For many hotels across the UK, Europe and North America, the PBX...

The post Why hotels can’t ignore PBX End of Service Life appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>
Why Hotels Can’t Ignore PBX End of Service Life (EOSL)

How 14IP Keeps You Secure, Compliant and Guest-Ready

For many hotels across the UK, Europe and North America, the PBX sitting quietly in a back office is now one of the biggest operational and compliance risks in the building.

Most legacy PBXs have reached End of Service Life (EOSL) – which means the manufacturer no longer provides security patches, updates, parts or technical support.

With annual budget planning underway for many hotels, now is the ideal time to assess EOSL risk and secure funding before a failure forces an unplanned and often more expensive replacement.

When a system reaches EOSL, the question is no longer if something will fail, but when. And for hotels, even a minor telephony outage can cascade into guest dissatisfaction, regulatory non-compliance, and revenue impact.

This is exactly why global hotel groups are prioritising PBX upgrades and why 14IP’s secure, cloud-based EOSL solution is now the preferred path forward for thousands of properties worldwide.

Below, we break down why EOSL matters – and how 14IP protects your hotel from the growing risks.

1. EOSL PBXs put guest data and hotel security at risk

Hotels handle highly sensitive information every single day – guest names, loyalty status, room numbers, billing information and more. The moment your PBX becomes EOSL, it becomes a security vulnerability.

Unpatched systems are exposed to:

  • Hacking and data breaches
  • Toll fraud
  • Exposure of guest names, loyalty status and room numbers
  • PCI compliance failures
  • GDPR/CCPA violations
  • Cyber insurance invalidation

An unsupported PBX creates a direct risk of exposing guest data.

2. No Support, No Parts and No Recovery Plan.

The operational impact of an unsupported PBX can be severe.

Hotels face:

  • No manufacturer support when failures occur
  • Rising costs for refurbished parts (if they exist at all)
  • Poor call quality, downtime and front-desk disruption
  • Multi-day outages that damage guest experience

When your PBX fails, it can disable guest rooms phones, emergency call paths, reservations & more. A single fault can shut down core functions your teams and guests rely on.

3. Brand, Security and compliance standards now require EOSL Replacement

Every major hotel group has tightened its cybersecurity and voice security standards. EOSL PBXs simply cannot comply.

Hotel PBXs must:

  • Meet brand-approved network & security standards
  • Satisfy PCI requirements
  • Align with brand cybersecurity policies
  • Be replaced before EOSL status is reached

Hotels that don’t upgrade risk failing brand audits – and facing costly remediation requirements.

4. PSTN, POTS and ISDN shutdowns create additional pressure

Across the UK, EU & US, traditional phone lines are being phased out. Many hotels still rely on them for lift phones, fire alarms, security systems, fax/modem lines and emergency lines.

A PBX upgrade alone is no longer enough – hotels must also modernise life-safety lines to maintain compliance.

5. Cloud PBX is now the standard for modern hospitality

Legacy PBXs were not designed for today’s requirements. Cloud telephony is now the global standard for hotels because it delivers:

  • Zero onsite hardware
  • Built-in reliability and redundancy
  • Encrypted, secure voice (TLS/SRTP)
  • PMS-aware call routing
  • AI-ready infrastructure
  • Centralised estate-wide management
  • Lower operational cost

And this is where 14IP leads the industry.

How 14IP Solves EOSL for Hotels – Securely and Seamlessly

Hotels choose 14IP because our solutions are purpose-built for hospitality, meeting brand, security and operational requirements across the world.

Our cloud PBX and POTS replacement services include:

  • Cloud PBX replacement
  • Emergency calling compliance
  • POTS replacement for lift/fire/security lines
  • Encrypted TLS/SRTP voice
  • Guest service routing workflows
  • PMS integration with intelligent call handling
  • Management analytics & reporting
  • Migration with zero guest disruption

Why hotels choose 14IP

  • 100% hospitality-focused
  • Brand-approved & compliant
  • Built-in enterprise-grade security
  • AI-ready (Evolution Virtual Agent)
  • Deep PMS integrations
  • Global 24/7 support network
  • Over 1 million guest rooms supported

14IP’s Evolution Voice™ platform provides a secure, carrier-grade, fully managed service designed specifically for hotels, replacing fragile legacy PBXs with a future-proof foundation for guest engagement.

From identifying vulnerabilities to planning a safe migration, our team will guide you every step of the way.

Book your free EOSL & POTS assessment
Learn more about what an EOSL PBX could mean for your property.

The post Why hotels can’t ignore PBX End of Service Life appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>
Fourteen IP and Clearly IP to Merge https://14ip.com/us/blog/fourteen-ip-and-clearly-ip-merge/ Mon, 13 Oct 2025 11:45:19 +0000 https://14ip.com/?p=38707 The post Fourteen IP and Clearly IP to Merge appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>

Merger creates global hospitality and enterprise communications leader with expanded AI and cloud portfolio

Fourteen IP Group Ltd a leading hospitality technology provider today announced it is merging with Clearly IP Inc, a leading player in hospitality and Unified Communications, as part of its global growth and technology strategy.

Fourteen IP Group is the world’s leading provider of secure, cloud-based telephony and AI solutions for the hospitality sector. Serving hospitality customers across 27 countries, Fourteen IP delivers Evolution Voice, EVA AI, SIP trunking, and networking services to hotels and resorts globally.

Established in 2019, Clearly IP delivers secure, reliable telecom solutions, including SIP trunking, managed phone systems, VoIP gateways, and emergency alert technologies. Clearly IP serves customers across hospitality, education, and enterprise sectors through its large and diverse Partner network. Clearly IP is known for scalable infrastructure, hands-on support, and ongoing innovation.

Clearly IP’s ComXchange solution will be made available in the UK, Europe, and Asia either directly from Fourteen IP or via partners, while Clearly IP’s partners will gain access to both Evolution Voice and EVA once integration work with partner portals is completed. The new group will also benefit from significant investment in its AI products and continued geographic expansion in both Europe and Asia.

Tony Lewis, CEO of ClearlyIP, commented:

“The merging of Fourteen IP and Clearly IP is an exciting milestone for both businesses. Together, we’ll scale faster, innovate further, and deliver even greater value to our customers and partners around the world. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Neil for more than 10 years and feel there couldn’t be a better fit of culture and companies combining”

Neil Tolley, CEO of Fourteen IP Group, commented:

“This is a coming together of two like-minded businesses that is a real case of 1+1=3, as we bring Clearly IP’s products, software development expertise, and partner-led model together with Fourteen IP’s global footprint and leadership in Cloud PBX and AI for the hospitality industry. Together we will enhance existing solutions, develop new ones with AI at the core wherever it adds value, and make all our solutions available through our partners around the world.”

The combined group employs around 200 people worldwide, serving approximately 1 million hotel rooms and enterprise users across 27 countries.

Fourteen IP Group and Clearly IP also wish to acknowledge and thank Tony Lewis, who alongside Neil Tolley of Fourteen IP have worked tirelessly to pull off this transformative merger. Their vision and leadership have been instrumental in their company’s successes, along with their teams, who will continue to play important roles in the new, expanded group.

Download this press release as a PDF

Media Contacts

Craig Walden
Fourteen IP Group
craig.walden@14ip.com

Michael Dunham
Clearly IP Inc.
mdunham@clearlyip.com

The post Fourteen IP and Clearly IP to Merge appeared first on Fourteen IP.

]]>