The Vanguard Ann Arbor, a recently opened Marriott Autograph Collection hotel featuring 188 rooms and extensive amenities, was entrenched in a “new build” project that required seamless vendor management and expert IT integration to meet its target grand opening date in May 2025.
Facing the complexity of coordinating multiple vendors and implementing technology systems in a fast-paced, not-so-coordinated construction environment, the hotel and specifically its General Manager, Jason Nelson, turned to ATC Hospitality late last year.
While Nelson was initially unsure of the impact ATC would have, he now credits ATC as essential to the hotel’s successful opening in May 2025. “I don’t think we could’ve opened this hotel without ATC,” says Nelson. “They literally took all the responsibility for IT off the property (management team) and brought it all together.”
ATC Hospitality stepped in to support the new build, immediately impacting the project with input on the low-voltage wiring design. The original wiring implementation did not accommodate the requirements of the Wi-Fi services throughout the hotel and the Point-of-Sale (POS) system in the restaurant. ATC identified the gaps in the wiring schematic and had them promptly corrected before more retrofitting would have been required.
ATC’s ongoing vendor management and coordination were key to the project’s success and the efficient implementation of integrated IT solutions. Like most new builds, the project presented a series of complex challenges.
Vendor Management Challenges: ATC Rolls Up Sleeves
With numerous vendors involved in delivering IT infrastructure and services, ensuring implementation operations were streamlined became a significant challenge. The first challenge stemmed from the array of vendors, each with distinct timelines, processes, and delivery expectations. Aligning these disparate elements to maintain the project schedule was critical. Misaligned schedules or communication breakdowns could easily result in costly delays.
“This project was great to be a part of, yet challenging,” says ATC’s Scott Johnson. “We jumped in and got up to speed quickly. Jason and his team made us feel like part of the family right from the start. When that happens, everyone is in sync and things fall into place nicely. It was an honor to be part of the successful opening of the Vanguard.”
Another pressing issue was ensuring the quality and consistency of vendor deliverables. Every guest-facing component needed to meet stringent standards to align with Vanguard’s brand promise of luxury and excellence. In addition, every service and technology must comply with Marriott’s brand standards. ATC is well-versed on Marriott’s IT and technology brand requirements and leveraged this knowledge base to ensure the Vanguard Hotel was compliant.
IT Solutions Implemented
ATC Hospitality deployed a host of IT and network infrastructure solutions tailored to meet the operational demands of a modern luxury hotel. These solutions not only streamlined backend operations but also elevated the guest experience.
High-Speed Internet Access (HSIA) and Guest Room Entertainment (GRE) are critical components of the guest experience. ATC Hospitality collaborated with Comcast, the ISP, and Cloud5 to deliver reliable, Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) to the hotel, along with hotel-wide connectivity and robust WiFi that catered to the expectations of both tech-savvy guests and hotel management. Cloud5 also provided phone service to the hotel. Everything went equally smooth with GRE provider, Worldvue. Worldvue also provided the Free-to-Guest channel lineup.
Additionally, the installation of an advanced point-of-sale (POS) system (Agilysys) fully supported the hotel’s restaurant. For ongoing managed IT services, ATC brought in JBI for day-to-day operational and back-office support.
From seamless transactions for leisurely visitors to business travelers holding virtual meetings, the robust network has been critical for back-office operations and guest-facing services.
How’s it Going?
“Our opening May 6th went super smooth, and we are off to a great start,” says Nelson. “We built an anchor hotel that Ann Arbor has long needed. Everybody loves it. ATC was instrumental in bringing it to life.”
The challenges faced by ATC underscore the importance of a strategic and well-executed vendor management plan. The success of the Vanguard Hotel’s new-build project hinged on addressing these difficulties head-on.
About the Hotel
The Vanguard Ann Arbor, Autograph Collection, offers today’s sophisticated and discerning travelers to Ann Arbor the opportunity to come together to converse, connect, and exchange ideas. In a nod to James Burrill Angell, credited with evolving The University of Michigan into one of the world’s most renowned public institutions, and perhaps best-known for his artfully turned phrase, “an uncommon education for the common man.”
The Vanguard Ann Arbor is an uncommon hotel experience that is distinctive in its approach and offerings. It is where guests discover an entirely new kind of Ann Arbor welcome—worthy of its venerable university neighbor, yet separate and distinctive in its atmosphere and personality.