Gale South Beach, a Curio Collection by Hilton property, will be one of the first hotels in the U.S. to offer an innovative 5G high-speed wireless private network through a partnership between GFO Investments, a private wealth management advisory firm, and Airspan Networks, provider of groundbreaking, disruptive software and hardware for 5G networks.

The new network is designed to be a model for the hospitality industry, with plans to eventually roll it out at other properties, including several in the GFO Investments portfolio, such as Shelborne South Beach and Mondrian South Beach in Miami.

The technology, designed to benefit hotel guests, meeting and event attendees and hotel operations, is enabled by Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS), a 150 MHz-wide slice of the radio airwaves set aside by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the deployment of 5G private networks, eliminating for the first time the need to acquire expensive spectrum licenses.

“This new technology will provide hotels with the fastest and most responsive digital connectivity available,” said Russell Galbut, chairman of GFO Investments. “Launching at The Gale South Beach will open new doors for hoteliers, enabling operators to revolutionize their offerings with new technology, both in-room and across hotel campuses.”  

Designed to transform the hospitality customer experience, the 5G private network solution will provide excellent indoor and outdoor high-speed voice and data coverage and hotspot capabilities throughout the property. With the exponential growth of video conferencing, 5G will also eliminate the typical connectivity problems related to virtual meetings. Meanwhile, it will allow for faster automated check-in and check-out procedures for Hilton Honors loyalty members. 

“The Gale South Beach has always strived for innovation by acquiring new technological advancements,” said Jared Galbut, president of hospitality for GFO Investments. “The rooms already have contactless guest engagement and touchless room controls through Google Nest Hub and Volara. Now, with 5G technology, these in-room amenities can be unified and effortlessly controllable through apps using the new network.”

The hotel’s staff will benefit from the private network by being able to provide hotel operations teams with voice and data applications, including intranet and internet access, Push to Talk (PTT) services and reliable video, along with streaming services for hotel guests to use on their smartphones.

“This deployment is a great example of how 5G private network deployments using CBRS can and will transform the hospitality industry,” said Eric Stonestrom, chairman and CEO of Airspan. “Airspan is a leader in 5G private network deployments, and we are proud to work with GFO Investments to provide this innovative network solution in one of the first CBRS deployments of its kind at a U.S. hotel.”

Photo: Gale South Beach

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