Working with Spokane-based security firm A-Tec, the hotel narrowed its potential choices down to three camera vendors, each of which submitted a bid for the video surveillance system project. After evaluating all of the products included in the bids, the hotel chose IP megapixel cameras from Arecont Vision, primarily based on image quality. Exacq was chosen as the video management software.

“If we’re going to build a new surveillance system, we need to make sure that if we have an incident, we can actually see who was involved,” said Kevin Miller, Corporate Director of Security for the Davenport Collection of Properties. “We wanted an innately high-quality, flexible solution, and we got it with Arecont Vision.”

Hotel management had a system design in mind, which Kevin Jetton, A-Tec’s President, was able to refine based on what he saw after touring the facility. According to Jetton, the changes were largely based on the ability to cut the hotel’s costs without sacrificing camera coverage.

“We pride ourselves on determining what the areas of concern are, how we are going to address them, and what cameras will do the best job,” Jetton said. “We realised we could incorporate Surroundvideo Omni and other Arecont Vision megapixel cameras to lower the camera count and increase overall views.”

The overall installation included 69 Arecont Vision cameras from several product families, all of which were deployed to suit the individual areas in which they were to be used.

Davenport Hotels had a number of safety and security goals for its new surveillance system in the Davenport Grand. Hotel management wanted to ensure that the cameras wouldn’t be the first thing guests noticed. With their high quality and their sleek, unobtrusive design, the Arecont Vision cameras have met those needs.

“We certainly didn't want to give people the feeling that they're being watched throughout the hotel,” Miller said. “We really like how the low profile of the cameras and the multi-sensor capabilities enabled us to use just one camera opposed to four separate ones.”

The Arecont Vision cameras have allowed the Davenport Grand to take a more proactive and preventative approach to security, something that would have been missing from an analogue surveillance system.

“We can see activity and hopefully stop and report behavior to prevent things from happening,” Miller said.

In terms of return on investment, the ability to avoid claims for which the hotel is not responsible has been a major benefit of the new system in the Davenport Grand. This has been particularly the case with the vehicle valet service.

“With the valet service, customers will come in and claim that marks on their vehicle weren’t there when they arrived, and quite honestly, they may believe that’s true. With the Arecont Vision cameras, we’re able to look at the video and say with confidence whether the mark was there when he or she arrived at the hotel,” Miller said.

The cameras have also helped with a number of instances of items disappearing from the exterior of the hotel. In one example, the Davenport Grand was able to provide the local police department with video which led to the items being returned and the thieves apprehended.