IHG Hotels & Resorts operate a portfolio of premium and luxury properties across the UK, where brand standards, guest experience and digital infrastructure are central to day-to-day operations.
When a property transitions into IHG management, the central IT team undertake a structured review of the site's infrastructure to ensure compliance with brand and resilience standards. As part of that process, we are engaged to assess and standardise the hotel's UPS provision.
We now work directly with the UK IT management team as their trusted UPS partner, supplying, installing and maintaining power protection systems across their managed estate, with further deployments continuing as new properties are onboarded.
The Problem
Across multiple sites, power protection was identified as a key weakness during infrastructure reviews. Common issues included:
- Legacy UPS systems with no maintenance history
- Incorrectly specified equipment
- Unknown battery condition
- No central monitoring capability
- Generator-free properties with limited resilience
In several instances, when mains power failed, supported servers, network switches and EPOS systems failed with it.
For a hospitality environment reliant on digital services, payment platforms and continuous connectivity, this created operational, commercial and reputational risk.
IHG required a consistent, scalable solution that would protect critical infrastructure and provide visibility across a distributed estate.
Our Approach
We developed a structured, repeatable model applied to each property entering IHG management.
Existing UPS assets are reviewed for suitability, battery condition and load capability.
Systems categorised by operational impact
- Revenue-critical systems (EPOS and payment gateways)
- Core network infrastructure
- PMS and back-office servers
- Full communications rooms
Autonomy defined by site risk profile
- Short-duration protection for controlled shutdown
- Extended runtime for generator-free sites
- Larger battery configurations for comms rooms
All installations include SNMP network monitoring, providing central IT with visibility of status, alarms and battery health across multiple hotels.
The Solution
To date, approximately 46 UPS systems have been deployed across the UK estate, comprising:
- Small systems (<2 kVA) protecting tills and network switches
- Medium systems (3–10 kVA) supporting comms cabinets
- Large systems (>10 kVA) protecting full communications rooms
Extended battery autonomy, up to three hours in certain locations, has been installed where no onsite generator is available.
All systems are network monitored, giving the central IT team full visibility of asset condition and performance.
The rollout continues as further properties enter IHG management.
The Result
The programme has delivered measurable resilience improvements across the estate:
- Elimination of unmanaged legacy UPS risk
- Protection of revenue-critical systems
- Improved performance during mains failures
- Centralised monitoring of distributed infrastructure
- Structured battery lifecycle planning
- Reduced reactive system failures
Power interruptions that previously resulted in network collapse now result in controlled ride-through or managed shutdown.
For a premium hospitality group, this protects revenue flow, operational continuity and brand reputation.
Maintenance
All deployed systems are maintained under structured service agreements including:
- Annual preventative maintenance
- Battery health testing and reporting
- Firmware and configuration checks
- Environmental inspections
- 24/7 four-hour technical support
This converts UPS from an unmanaged risk into a controlled, lifecycle-managed asset.
Project Highlights
- Approx. 46 UPS systems deployed across UK estate
- Mix of small (<2 kVA), medium (3–10 kVA) and large (>10 kVA) systems
- Extended battery autonomy up to 3 hours at generator-free sites
- SNMP monitoring across all assets
- Centralised IT visibility
- Full supply, installation and commissioning
- Preventative maintenance programme
- 4-hour emergency response SLA
- Ongoing rollout aligned with new property transitions