How an Automation Newcomer Won the Wynn Hotel

Evolve Guest Controls beats out established automation brands for the 2,716-room Las Vegas hotel.>

Julie Jacobson
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Rosenthal joined the company two years ago after a long career in residential integration, installing and working with the big brands that Evolve now competes against.

Simplicity Sells
Rosenthal attributes the Wynn win to the simplicity of Evolve’s solution for both users and installers. Each room is outfitted with automated light switches, plug-in modules, a smart thermostat, wall-mounted and tabletop LCD controllers (offering seven languages), and a relay module for operating the existing motorized drapes, sheers and doorbell. An external door station is provided for housekeeping and privacy controls.

Big Job!

It is not unusual for hotels to use their own electricians and other contractors to install the systems you specify. Evolve charges project management fees for on-site supervision. No matter how simple the system — as in this case — “a project this large requires project management on site every day,” says Rosenthal.

The Wynn was on a tight schedule for the hotel remodel, so it needed a solution that could be installed quickly and effectively by its own electricians. Evolve’s answer was to pre-program the devices for each Wynn room, hand off the systems to the Wynn electricians, and provide on-site supervision.

The company’s Las Vegas team provisions the devices, says Rosenthal. “We program everything, test 100 percent of the devices and associations, and package each room in its own box with the room number on it. The electrician installs it just like any other device.”

Rosenthal calls the pre-configuration “a big deal.” He explains, “Most of the other companies have to program on site.”

By home automation standards, and by the standards of nearby hotels, the Wynn version of in-room control is fairly modest. That’s by design, Rosenthal says: “The Wynn wanted a system that a guest could understand the moment they walked in the room. Our system has no learning curve; it is easy and self-explanatory.”

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