With its dome made up of more than two million LED bulbs, the NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding offers a high-tech support for logo projections or original audiovisual creations.
As if by magic, on 9 April actor Huck Jackman suddenly appeared on stage in the plenary room of the NH Collection Eurobuilding in Madrid. Sitting on his high chair in a blue T-shirt, he appeared to be there, very much present, answering questions from journalists attending the presentation of the film Chappie, organised by Sony. And yet he was in Berlin at the time, a long way from the Spanish capital; and it was only his hologram, his 3D image, that appeared on the hotel stage...
This ultra-high-tech way of launching the film matched its scenario, which is based on anticipation and artificial intelligence. "Attention to our message has been multiplied thanks to this astonishing way of communicating"explained Ivan Losada, Managing Director of Sony Pictures Spain. He added: "This is probably just the first of many uses for holograms in our industry.." NH Hotels, the first hotel group to offer this solution, intends to capitalise on this burgeoning craze. Around fifteen establishments, all located in major business cities, should be equipped with this magical innovation by the end of the year. "This technology can be used by a wide range of industries, including entertainment and new technologies, of course, but also fashion, cars and pharmaceuticals."says Rufino Perez, General Sales Manager of the Spanish group. In addition to live broadcasts, which admittedly require an excellent satellite connection, other less expensive options are also available, such as pre-recorded messages from speakers or 3D presentations of new products...
In an almost digital society, events will undoubtedly become increasingly connected. Earlier this year, in La Tribune, Stéphane de Clebsattel, sales manager for Everteam's Cloud solutions, talked about the rise of Boards of Directors 2.0, which are gaining ground in France after conquering the United States. "According to the renowned analyst firm Gartner, by 2018, more than 80% of large companies will be using collaborative systems to carry out their board meetings."he added.
So hoteliers are on the lookout for the latest trends to give their seminar packages a high-tech twist and prepare for the future. Firstly because senior executives with greying temples are resolutely embracing the new technologies, but above all because all the employees of the 'geek generation' and their nomadic habits are foreshadowing a groundswell that will radically change the way people meet in the years to come. "Our customers are changing the way they travel and the way they get together, says Cyrille Pawelko, Events Director at Marriott Rive Gauche. Even if we still have a demand for classic 'class room' set-ups, we're at a turning point."
Especially as the Millenials, the 18-35 year-olds who have fallen straight into the pot of a furiously connected global world, are already breaking through under Generation Y. "For them, meetings should look like everything but meetingssays Cyrille Pawelko. They identify less and less with traditional seminar formats. What they are looking for above all is networking and interactivity."As a result, according to Rufino Perez, "in addition to enhancing the productivity of meetings, the technologies proposed must leave participants with a memorable experience."
As a result, organisers are looking for innovative technological experiments. At product launches and major conventions, it is now common practice to invite the audience to react via social networks, by posting a comment on Twitter, a photo on Flickr or a video on Youtube. For corporate seminars, interactivity is just as important, for example by tweeting questions and answers to the speaker.
No future without WiFi
In this context, beware of poor connections that could affect the smooth running of the event... WiFi has become the cornerstone of all meetings, as well as the hobbyhorse of hotel groups. "It's the sinews of war, explains Cyril Kovarsky, Senior Vice President Global Sales at AccorHotels. What do businesses expect? That WiFi is free and that the network can support a large number of connections from a multitude of mobile devices."All this requires ever greater bandwidth and more and more relay antennas. It is no longer unusual to see hotels offering connections of several hundred megabits, or even a gigabit, particularly in establishments with a wealth of conference rooms, such as the Marriott Rive Gauche and Pullman Tour Eiffel in Paris or the NH Eurobuilding in Madrid.
Another strong demand from companies is for private networks for their events. "Recently, a company in the new technologies sector chose us because of our ability to provide its own network with high bandwidth so that all participants could watch videos from their computers or tablets."says Alejandro Casamor, General Manager of the Hilton Paris La Défense.
To keep up with the breakneck pace of technological developments, hoteliers are constantly having to invest. "Changing servers, upgrading cabling, adapting to new software versions: all this represents 70 % to 80 % of our annual investment, continues Alejandro Casamor. The Hilton Group wants us to be at the cutting edge of technology at all times to meet customer expectations, particularly for meetings.." For its part, AccorHotels is starting to roll out fibre optics throughout its establishments. "As soon as the operators make it available, we install it. We now have 800 'fibre-optic' hotels around the world, including 200 in France. These include all the Sofitels, Pullmans, Mgalleries, Novotels and the biggest Ibis hotels."says David Esseryk, Vice-President of Customer Technology for the French group.
Above all, nothing to breakêyou
So much for WiFi, the foundation of the whole high-tech edifice. But the evolution of hotel seminars is also based on a very up-to-the-minute multimedia offering. Seminar rooms are filled with the latest screens and videoconferencing solutions. It was in this forward-looking spirit that renovations were undertaken at the Hilton Paris Opéra, the former Concorde St Lazare housed in a Haussmann-style building. "We have drawn inspiration from his legacy while looking to the future, says Sofia Vandaele, General Manager of the establishment. In the meeting rooms, customers will find a very Parisian atmosphere, with mouldings on the ceiling, but also the latest technologies to offer a "plug & play" experience.. In other words, participants simply open their laptops and connect directly to the video projectors and plasma screens. They stay focused on their work without worrying about the technology behind it."Making technology as simple as possible, and easy to use for everyone, is a priority for professionals. While 'plug & play' reigns at the Hilton Paris Opéra, the Marriot Rive Gauche is all about 'click & share'. "Guests plug a USB stick into their computer, which communicates via WiFi with the video projector. So everyone in turn, without moving, can take control of it to make their presentation."says Cyrille Pawelko.
Combining comfort and productivity, seminar rooms are opening their doors to the latest generation of screens. Meetings specialist Châteauform' has installed a veritable wall of screens in its City establishment at Cnit La Défense, in a very Minority Report style. For its part, Novotel has equipped its Premium rooms with a touch screen that accepts all types of connection, WiFi, HDMI or VGA. Better still, this screen is capable of modulating the ambience of the room itself. "Speakers have the pleasure of launching their projection and seeing the lighting adapt automatically.says David Esseryk. No need to get up to close the curtains or turn off the lights!"AccorHotels' top-of-the-range Pullman brand, for its part, is beginning to consign flipcharts to oblivion by equipping the Pullman Tour Eiffel and St Pancras, in London, with interactive Smartboard screens. "What you write on the screen is recorded. Changes are saved and participants can leave directly with the final presentation.explains Cyril Kovarsky. It's a huge success. And as the technology becomes more widely available, we're likely to see it appear soon at Novotel, and why not in the biggest Ibis hotels equipped for meetings?".
This ability to immediately disseminate the memory of past work is also one of the features of the 'smart room' at the NH Collection Eurobuilding in Madrid. But this room goes even further. In addition to the 14 people seated around its V-shaped table, it can accommodate up to 250 'virtual' participants. Based on Microsoft's Lync meeting solution, the smart room has two king-size screens, with an interactive section for presentations on one side and a videoconferencing section on the other. So, wherever they are in the world, guests can follow the meeting and take part from their computer or tablet, or even their smartphone.
This commitment to providing the latest technological solutions is not just for seminar participants. Event organisers are equally pampered by hoteliers. The Marriott group offers them an online platform, Meetings Imagined, which makes their work easier by proposing innovative room layouts based on seven identified objectives: celebrating, deciding, training, conceiving ideas, networking, producing and promoting. In addition, the American hotelier offers applications that act as virtual concierges. So there's no longer any need to run around to manage the incidental aspects of meetings, such as lowering the room temperature or ordering a drink. Organisers simply use the app - called Red Coat Direct, JW Event or R.E.N Meetings Expert depending on the group's brands - to communicate directly with hotel staff.
Applications dedicated to meetings are already changing the face of corporate events. Hoteliers are already offering their customers practical solutions from suppliers such as SpotMe and Event Mobi. These solutions enable participants to find all the information they need on their smartphones, such as the programme for the event or the biographies of the speakers. What's more, they can retrieve presentations as they leave the room, take part in live polls, or retrieve participants' contacts, etc.
Faced with this multitude of possibilities, Starwood Hotels has joined forces with PSAV, the technology partner of many hotels, and Cvent, a specialist in the whole world of meetings, to launch its own solution. "Participants will be able to use the application to create their own personalised diary, but also to get in touch with other guests via social networks or to receive live messages from the organisers." says Jonathan Kaplan, Director of Sales and Digital Programmes at Starwood Hotels.
New terminals
A new technology with a bright future is that of beacons, small terminals that communicate via Bluetooth with smartphones. Beacons have begun to appear in a number of airports, with the aim of making it easier for travellers to find their way around these vast hubs, and they should soon be making their debut in hotels. The NH Collection Eurobuilding has installed them in its meeting rooms and is due to test them shortly. AccorHotels is also considering the idea. "While technology can be a little intrusive, it undoubtedly has a future."Cyril Kovarsky.
Its potential applications are indeed promising. For example, beacons can send a welcome message when participants enter a meeting room. If by chance they make a mistake or are not registered for the session, they can redirect them to the right room. As far as the organisers are concerned, there are also many possibilities, including automated registration, monitoring of the most popular sessions - with the possibility of making adjustments to make the following days' sessions more dynamic - and, why not, real-time satisfaction surveys such as "Did you enjoy the coffee?
For Corbin Ball, an American consultant specialising in new technologies, "this data can be very useful for improving event logistics and marketing." An interesting prospect... Especially at a time when every euro spent counts, calculating the return on investment for events is more important than ever.
