Sinclair Holdings has renovated the iconic 1929 art deco Sinclair office building in Fort Worth, Texas, outfitting it with a number of technologies to make it a luxury, modern hotel.

The entire hotel features systems based off PoE devices including lighting, motorised shades and curtains, door locks, fibre GPON connectivity, mini fridges, USB-C charging outlets, HVAC, smart bathroom mirrors, loudspeakers are more.

There are more than 7,000 ports installed in the 165-bedroom hotel.

Sinclair Holdings worked with their vendor partners to use devices that could be powered over Ethernet and allowed communication and power to be distributed on a single cable. This eliminated typical energy inefficiencies when low voltage DC devices, like lights and window shades, are powered with high voltage AC power. While powering all systems with PoE creates greater energy efficiency, it also places all the endpoints on a network where management and intelligent communication can take place.

Through their efforts using PoE technology, the Sinclair Hotel saves about 35% energy consumption compared to a hotel designed with traditional AC power.

The 17^th floor rooftop terrace offers panoramic views of the Fort Worth cityscape while offering artfully crafted small plates, fresh-shucked oysters, cocktails and desserts: “We knew that we wanted an upscale audio visual experience on the rooftop that matched the other spaces within the hotel like the Wicked Butcher Steakhouse in the basement,” Sinclair Holdings technology designer Hannah Walker says.

“It was very important that our vision of energy efficiency did not disrupt or give the guest a lesser experience in any of our spaces.”

Low voltage contractor Terra Bridge recommended MSE Audio SoundTube’s IPD-SM52-EZ-WH speakers because of their robust outdoor capabilities: “We evaluated the speaker’s aesthetics along with their sonic performance as we needed to ensure the sound quality could withstand wind interference,” Hannah explains.

“This was our first installation of the MSE Audio speakers, and we’ve been thrilled with their audio quality and that the PoE features work seamlessly with our systems. The performance and value are outstanding.”

Outside of that, the hotel features a plethora of technology including:

• Cisco’s Meraki smart WiFi cloud networking solution for personalised guest messaging
• Somfy PoE motorised shades and drapes
• LG commercial AC along with commercial video displays throughout the property with OLED displays in guest room
• Voltserver’s Digital Electricity to power Cisco Digital Building switches
• Electric Mirror PoE-powered LED bathroom mirrors which guests can use as their info-tainment system
• Lithium battery-powered UPS systems that eliminated the need for diesel emergency generators
• Intel Unite wireless display and collaboration technology to power the hotel’s meeting spaces
• SinkTech IoT sinks in the hotel restaurant regulate water temperature, soap and sanitizer levels
• Intel PoE NUCs support many of the IoT technologies (gateways, controllers, data aggregation, edge computing and an Intel Unite hub)
• End-to-end Intel-based technologies enable the hotel from the smart features above to the reservation systems, point of sale, networking infrastructure, back office and guest services, such as mobile key and wireless charging.