For an upscale hotel, I have proposed to use Sonos. The main reason I’ve used Sonos is because the client wanted a zone 2 Speaker, but there was no cables laid.



I’m using PLAYBASE inside the room. And 2 units of SONOS ONE in the Pool Area (under a covered roof).



The basic idea is, the Playbase always plays the audio out of the TV. The same audio is heard on the ONEs.



The hotel (for security reasons) does not allow users to transmit data across devices on the guest WiFi. If the user wanted to play audio on their phone, they’ll need to connect over Bluetooth to a Teleadapt TA-3350. Audio gets carried to the TV over HDMI and output to Playbase over Toslink and heard on Playbase & Zone 2 ONEs over WiFi.



The hotel would also not provide user to connect to the SONOS over WiFi. And they would not allow internet access to the SONOS. Though this is not how sonos is intended to be used, it works in this case as our primary audio source is the TV (on which users will fern IPTV, Music Streaming, Movies on Demand, etc).



Questions:

1. When the 3 units are grouped as 1, the volume is controlled together. But the volume levels of Playbase and Sonos are very different. If the guest increased the volume outside (ONE) to an audible level, the Playbase becomes unbearably loud. If I grouped the speakers as independent units, I can control volume separately but then the issue is:



2. How do I control the audio on Zone 2? Since it’s in a permanently installed setting, the ONES are mounted at ceiling level. It will always be fixed. And the user can’t reach the buttons. Would the iPort remote work? If I wanted to control 2 zones separately would I need 2 remotes?



3. TV volume does not control the Playbase Volume. This is also another reason why I need to propose additional remotes. I noticed that Controlling TV volume doesn’t control audio level on Playbase. Is this specific to the model of TV I’m using? Or is this common?



4. The above issues can be solved if I could get a Developer Kit that can allow me to create a custom iPad App to control volumes on Zone 1 & Zone 2. We have an app in the hotel room which controls lights, AC and shades. We could add another feature.



5. Has anyone used Sonos in a hospitality setting?



Sorry for the long message.