RIBA design stages and IT infrastructure for hospitality: why getting it wrong costs far more than getting it right

Why IT infrastructure is a RIBA-stage problem, not an IT problem

Every construction project has a coordination hierarchy. Structural engineers set constraints that everyone else works around. M&E engineers – responsible for heating, ventilation, plumbing, electrical distribution and fire suppression – coordinate their routes through the building with architects and structural engineers before anything is built. That coordination happens in CAD (Computer-Aided Design – the detailed technical drawings used to model and communicate building systems) and increasingly in BIM (Building Information Modelling – a 3D digital coordination environment where all building systems are modelled together to identify clashes before they appear on site).

IT infrastructure – structured cabling, comms rooms, riser routes, wireless access point positions – occupies exactly the same physical space as M&E. Cable containment runs along corridors and through risers. Comms rooms need power, cooling and adequate floor area. Access points need power and data feeds at ceiling level. If IT isn't represented in the CAD and BIM models during design, the containment gets designed in the wrong places, risers fill up without space allocated for IT cabling, and comms rooms end up undersized or in the wrong location entirely.

The problem compounds at each stage of the RIBA Plan of Work (Stages 0 through 7, running from Strategic Definition through to Use). Each stage locks in decisions that the next stage builds on. Once Stage 4 Technical Design drawings are issued for tender, changing the location of a comms room isn't a design decision – it's a variation order, with all the cost and programme implications that brings. The further through the RIBA stages a project gets before IT infrastructure is properly considered, the more expensive correction becomes.

This is why IT design needs to sit alongside M&E from the start. Not managed by the M&E engineer – those disciplines have their own specialisms – but coordinated with them from the same point in the programme.

Stage 0 and 1: Strategic Definition and Preparation

Stages 0 and 1 of the RIBA Plan of Work are about establishing what the project is, what it needs to achieve and whether it's viable. For a hospitality project – whether a new-build hotel, a conversion or a substantial refurbishment – this is where the operational brief takes shape.

It's also where IT infrastructure requirements need to be established, because those requirements determine the scale, complexity and cost of everything that follows. The questions that need answering at this stage include: What PMS (Property Management System – the hotel's core booking and operations platform) will the property run? Will there be IPTV (Internet Protocol Television – in-room TV delivered across the hotel's data network rather than via traditional coaxial cabling)? What are the guest Wi-Fi expectations – basic connectivity or high-bandwidth provision suitable for corporate travellers? Is there a conferencing or events facility that needs dedicated AV and networking infrastructure? What back-of-house automation is planned – building management systems, CCTV, access control, staff communications?

Each of those systems has infrastructure implications. IPTV requires a structured cabling (the standardised cabling system – typically Cat6A copper and multimode or singlemode fibre – that carries all data, voice and increasingly AV traffic across the building) investment that's substantially different from a coaxial TV distribution system. A large conferencing facility with multiple breakout rooms needs dedicated network segmentation and higher cabling density than a simple boardroom. A building management system integration needs IT representation in the design from the outset.

None of this needs to be specified in detail at Stage 0 or 1. But the high-level technology brief – the list of systems the hotel will run and an initial view of how they'll integrate – should exist before Stage 2 begins. Without it, architects and M&E engineers make assumptions that may prove wrong, and changing those assumptions later costs money.

Stage 2 and 3: Concept and Spatial Coordination

Stage 2 (Concept Design) and Stage 3 (Spatial Coordination) are where the building takes shape on paper. Floor plates are configured, room layouts are established, vertical circulation is fixed, and the building services strategy – how M&E gets around the building – is developed and coordinated.

This is the critical window for IT infrastructure design. If IT isn't in the CAD drawings at Stage 2 and 3, it won't be in the building without significant cost.

At Stage 2, the IT design work that needs to happen includes: locating the primary CDP (the central comms room – also called the main distribution frame or MDF – where all network infrastructure terminates and where the internet service provider connection enters the building), establishing the riser strategy (the vertical routes by which cabling reaches upper floors), identifying floor distribution points (intermediate comms rooms or telecommunications distribution frames on each floor), and defining the overall containment strategy so that M&E engineers can incorporate IT cable trays and conduit routes into their drawings.

At Stage 3, that work becomes more precise. Floor-by-floor outlet schedules start to take shape. The CDP and any intermediate comms rooms get dimensioned and coordinated with the architectural plan – a CDP that ends up too small, or positioned adjacent to a plant room with significant electromagnetic interference, creates operational problems that last the lifetime of the building. BIM coordination at Stage 3 allows IT containment to be checked against structural elements, M&E runs and architectural features before anyone starts building. Clash detection at this stage costs hours. Clash detection on site costs weeks.

Projects that skip IT design at Stages 2 and 3 typically discover the problem when the M&E contractor starts on site and realises there's no containment for data cabling, or when the IT contractor arrives and finds the comms room is half the size they need. At that point, remediation isn't a design exercise – it's a construction variation.

Stage 4: Technical Design

Stage 4 is Technical Design: the point at which the design is developed in sufficient detail to go out to tender. For M&E, this means fully coordinated drawings, specifications and schedules. For IT, it means exactly the same.

The IT deliverables that should be complete or substantially complete at Stage 4 include: a structured cabling schedule specifying cable categories (Cat6A for copper horizontal runs is now standard for new hospitality builds), outlet quantities and positions, fibre backbone routes and specifications; active equipment specifications covering network switches, wireless access points, firewall and security hardware; integration requirements for PMS, IPTV, building management system (BMS) and any third-party platforms the operator has committed to; comms room layout drawings showing rack positions, power distribution, cooling strategy and cable management; and a network architecture drawing showing logical topology, VLANs and internet connectivity.

Stage 4 is the practical point of no return for cost-effective changes. A decision made here – or a decision deferred past this point – carries a very different cost profile from the same decision made at Stage 2. Moving an outlet position at Stage 4, before construction, means updating a drawing. Moving it during Stage 5, after first fix cabling is installed, means a site variation, additional materials and labour, and potentially disruption to other trades.

The IT specification issued at Stage 4 also feeds directly into procurement. If IT infrastructure is included in the M&E tender package at this point – which is the right approach for passive infrastructure – the main contractor prices it with everything else and the costs are transparent. If IT is excluded from the Stage 4 tender because the specification isn't ready, it gets picked up as a direct appointment later, often at a higher unit cost and without the coordination benefit of being priced alongside the other building services.

Stages 5, 6 and 7: Construction, Handover and Use

Stage 5 is Construction. For IT, this covers first fix (installing the passive infrastructure – the physical cabling, conduit and containment – the pipes and cables before any active equipment is introduced), second fix (terminating the cabling and installing faceplates, patch panels and cable management), and the installation and configuration of active infrastructure (switches, wireless access points, servers – the equipment that uses the passive network to carry data).

A well-designed project at this stage runs smoothly. Containment is in place, comms rooms are correctly sized and positioned, power is available where it needs to be, and the IT contractor can execute against a clear specification. The site coordination work happens during Stage 5 – resolving the minor clashes and field changes that occur on every construction project – but these are manageable if the design was solid at Stage 4.

Stage 6 is Handover and Close Out. For IT, this means commissioning and testing: verifying that every structured cabling link meets the performance standard it was specified to (Cat6A links are tested to TIA-568-C.2 or ISO/IEC 11801 standards using a cable certification tester), configuring and testing active equipment against the network architecture, and completing systems integration testing for PMS, IPTV, access control and any other connected platforms. Snagging IT systems at this stage – identifying and resolving faults before the operator takes possession – is substantially cheaper than resolving them after opening.

Handover documentation matters more than most projects treat it. As-built CAD drawings showing actual cable routes, outlet schedules, patch panel schedules and equipment configurations are the foundation of every future change, expansion or fault diagnosis. A hotel that opens without accurate IT as-built records will spend money rediscovering its own infrastructure every time it needs to change something.

Stage 7 is Use. For IT infrastructure, this is where a managed service relationship either delivers value or creates friction. Networks in hospitality environments need ongoing management – firmware updates, security patching, wireless optimisation as guest behaviour changes, capacity planning as the property grows its technology stack. The operator who treated IT as a one-time installation exercise will find that the infrastructure degrades faster and costs more to maintain than one supported by a proactive managed service.

The cost of getting the sequence wrong

The consequences of late IT engagement on hospitality construction projects follow predictable patterns. These aren't edge cases – they're what happens on projects where IT is treated as a procurement decision rather than a design discipline.

Re-routing cables after walls are closed. First fix cabling that runs through the wrong location – because the IT contractor wasn't coordinated with the M&E engineer – needs to be rerouted once the issue is discovered. Depending on where in the building this occurs, making good can involve cutting into finished plasterwork, reinstating fire-stopping and redecorating. The cost per incident varies, but the cumulative effect across a 100-bed hotel can run to five figures before anyone is managing the wider programme impact.

Installing additional comms rooms. A CDP or intermediate distribution point that was sized for a simpler network than the hotel ultimately requires needs to be supplemented or replaced. Adding a comms room to a building that's already in fit-out – finding space, running power, installing cooling, cabling back to the primary distribution point – costs between £20,000 and £80,000 depending on location and complexity. That figure doesn't include the programme delay while the work is coordinated and executed.

Re-tendering IT after the main contract is priced. When IT infrastructure isn't included in the Stage 4 tender package, main contractors price the project without it. When the IT scope is subsequently defined and procured separately, there's no competitive tension against the rest of the building services package, coordination responsibility sits in a gap between the main contractor and the IT contractor, and the operator ends up managing a direct appointment that sits outside the main contract. The cost premium versus a properly integrated IT tender is rarely less than 15%.

System integration failures at opening. A PMS that can't communicate with the IPTV platform because the network wasn't configured to support it. Access control that works in isolation but can't feed the building management system because the IP addressing scheme wasn't designed with integration in mind. These aren't technical mysteries – they're the predictable result of systems that were specified and installed without a coordinated IT design. Resolving them after opening, under operational pressure, costs more than designing for them from the start.