The five-star hotel Steigenberger Drei Mohren in the Bavarian city of Augsburg knows how to make a stay as pleasant as possible for its guests. The hotel’s feel-good-package of course includes an appropriate video system to ensure the safety and security of the guests at all times. The technical equipment was provided by Dallmeier and professionally installed by the company C + W Notfallsysteme.

The luxury hotel Steigenberger is situated in historic surrounding, directly on Augsburg’s beautiful Maximilianstraße, one of the city’s most important streets. Steeped in history as it is, the rooms and suites of the building are welcoming guests with a very own flair, as tradition and contemporary amenities make a successful match. Old paintings, modern technical devices, and certainly the view across the Maximilianstraße boulevard all make a stay at the Steigenberger Drei Mohren as special as it is.

The “Maximilian’s“ restaurant provides for superb culinary delights, offering a diverse cuisine in elegant atmosphere. Guests who enjoy regional cookery will feel just as comfortable as connoisseurs of Mediterranean specialists or classic, light dishes. Gastronomic theme nights such as dinner crime stories or film dinners as well as jazz brunches and evening buffets top off the culinary offer.

The bistro 3M, an Augsburg institution, is a gathering point for people who enjoy the finesse of French cuisine in a lively atmosphere. The new esprit and the cool design of the trio lounge.bar put emphasis on a cosmopolitan lifestyle and make the Steigenberger Drei Mohren a hotspot of cultivated nightlife. In a relaxed ambience one can engage in absorbing conversations with fascinating people international drinks. Tradition, style and modernity form a perfect combination that impresses hotel guests and Augsburg residents alike.

Eight air-conditioned meeting rooms are available for conferences and events, providing space for up to 450 guests. The technical equipment fulfils even high demands and the `tea hall´. A central ball room with 575sqm is ideally suited for conferences or corporate events of exclusive nature. The VDR certification of the Steigenberger Drei Mohren means that it is a Certified Conference Hotel according to 67 strict convenience and service criteria. Thus, the hotel guarantees maximum planning security for the events.

As with everything at the Steigenberger Drei Mohren the video surveillance system had to meet the highest demands. Apart from reliable functionality the hotel's management placed particular emphasis on a discreet mounting of the cameras in order not to disturb the architectural design of the beautiful building. Therefore, the hotel chose the products by Regensburg based manufacturer and experienced CCTV/IP expert Dallmeier.

The task at hand
C + W Notfallsysteme e.K., a competence centre for fire prevention, security and emergency management and a long-time partner of Dallmeier electronic GmbH & Co.KG, was commissioned to carry out the planning and installation of a video surveillance system for the Steigenberger Drei Mohren. The goal was to reliably secure the entrances and exits as well as the public areas of the hotel such as the reception, lobby and car park. The car park was already monitored by a camera, which only had to be integrated into the system. The hotel demanded that the system be designed in a way that would safeguard the personal rights of the employees.

Discreet cameras
The Steigenberger Drei Mohren is characterised not only by state-of-the-art facilities and premium accommodation. The historic atmosphere of the building is what gives the hotel its unique flair. Of course, despite state-of-the-art video equipment that unique flair was to be preserved and thus the interior cameras had to be mounted as discreetly as possible.

Therefore, the choice was made to use the Dallmeier Picodome^® DDF3000APV, an extremely small and compact mini dome with a diameter of only 94mm. The camera integrates seamlessly into the existing architectural design and is discreetly installed in between the recessed ceiling lights. The ceilings are mainly painted white, hence the white cover ring of the Picodome^® provides for ideal concealment.

However, the small size and compact design of the camera are not its only benefits. Owing to its Cam_inPIX^® technology the Picodome^® produces clear, high contrast and true-colour images, even under the most difficult lighting conditions. Moreover, the basement held the special task of mounting a camera so that it would be possible to view two areas of a hallway despite a protruding cornerstone. Using the 2.3mm lens proved to be the best solution in that case.

Outdoors it had become necessary to start monitoring the garden and an arcade, as there had repeatedly been damages related to vandalism. For this purpose the high-resolution Dallmeier colour box camera DF3000A-DN, equipped with a 2.8-8mm lens, was an ideal device. Ever since it was mounted, there have not been any further acts of vandalisms. In order to ensure compliance with data protection laws, signs were hung up which notify guests in German and English about the presence of video surveillance.

Another three cameras were installed at the entrances and exits to the hotel. They were fitted with a 11-50mm lens and are used for identifying people. The DF3000A-DN is particularly suited for this application since the settings and presets of the camera ensure an optimal adjustment to changing lighting conditions.

 

Reliable recording
The images from the cameras are recorded on a digital Dallmeier hard disk recorder. The recorder was placed in the server room, because it has the best climatic conditions and provides a safe and secure operating environment. So as to prevent any misuse or unauthorised access by third parties the four-eye-principle was set at the recorder, which means that only a defined number of users has access to the recordings.

In order to be able to react as fast as possible in the unlikely event of a system error, the system was connected via relay contacts to an automatic telephone dialler, which enables a prompt notification of the installer company by the VdS alarm control centre. A connection to the hold-up alarm system was also realised to make sure that in the case of an alarm being triggered recordings are saved on a secure track. For reasons of data protection no connection was established to the internet or external networks respectively. There is merely one direct network connection to the recorder at the back office. That is, however, fully sufficient for the needs of the Steigenberger Drei Mohren.

User-friendly operation and evaluation
The Dallmeier management software PView was installed on the back office PC. The receptionists or the employees at the back offices respectively are thereby able to use PView presets to view certain areas if necessary. Images from the car park for example are permanently displayed whereas areas such as the ball room and the adjacent cloakroom are only additionally displayed during events.

Installation
Philipp Cachée, managing director of C + W Notfallsysteme, explains the installation: “We used combi cables in order to ensure a central power supply. The cameras as well as the recorders are backed by emergency power supply and are connected to the power grid, which is supplied by a diesel-fuelled emergency power generator. That enables a failure-free operation.“

Five-star video system
The Steigenberger Drei Mohren is fully satisfied with the video system. Andreas Pfister, the hotel manager, explains why: “Like the hotel, our video system is also on a five-star level. Our high demands regarding functionality and design were fully met. We are very happy with the installation!“