Luxury hotel uses Omnivex software to communicate with visitors and guests
Customer overview
Hyatt Regency® is one of the most prestigious brands in the hotel industry operating in major cities around the world, with meeting facilities and special services designed with the business traveler in mind. Hyatt Regency Chicago is in the heart of downtown Chicago, with 2,019 guestrooms, 63 meeting rooms, and 228,000 square feet of space for meetings and various functions. It is made up of two separate towers, connected to each other and neighbouring buildings by a series of hallways and underground tunnels. Hyatt Regency Chicago takes pride in offering their guests the best of everything among luxury hotels - great restaurants, well-appointed rooms and unparalleled service.
Project scope
The hotel management wanted to help guests and visitors navigate the facility, and provide a more effective method of distributing information (including meeting schedules and locations, local attractions and events, maps of the facility, and captivating graphics to promote the Hyatt brand and hotel services/amenities). They expressed a desire to display real time information about weather, news, and flight information for Chicago’s two major airports. In addition to fifty fixed mounted LCD screens, Hyatt Regency Chicago required mobile screens that could be moved to different locations throughout the hotel depending on the daily events. They also wanted a system that could recognize who was viewing a particular screen and display custom content to suit the profile of the viewer. Lastly, the management team felt that it would be beneficial to incorporate a live television feed on some public displays, as well as provide guests with the ability to access information on the public displays directly from the television screen in their room.
Omnivex solution
The hotel contracted Hospitality Partners, a company who specializes in management systems for hotels, to implement and maintain the digital signage network and to create content for the screens. Since Hospitality Partners has extensive experience managing digital signage networks, they were asked to evaluate the digital signage software systems on the market. “During our decision making process we identified some key components that should be embodied by the selected digital signage software,” stated Jim Drysch, Hospitality Partner’s Manager of Networking and Telecommunication Services. “These components were a strong foundation in data management, ease of use by the end user, and a strong commitment by the software company to support their product. Omnivex was hands down the leader in all three categories. No other software we evaluated had the same combination of power and simplicity of use as Omnivex software.”
Content for the screens is managed by Omnivex Display software. The central content management component resides at Hospitality Partner’s corporate location. From there, Hospitality Partners can design content and deliver it to the Hyatt Regency network. Omnivex software acquires, sorts, and formats real time data through an intuitive interface that does not require complex programming by the operator. Real time news and weather data is delivered to the screens via Omnivex NewsStand and Omnivex DataPipe. Live television is streamed to certain screens and incorporated into the display content automatically.
The software also interfaces with the centralized Hyatt property management server, called Envision. The Envision database contains information from around the world about all Hyatt meeting and banquet bookings and schedules. Omnivex DataPipe software is able to access information located in the Envision database and display specific meeting information on particular screens at a specified date and time, automatically with no manual intervention by Hyatt Regency staff. “The data-centric approach that Omnivex has taken allows users of their software almost endless flexibility in data formatting and manipulation,” says Jim Drysch.
The ten mobile screens can be placed in different locations depending on what activities are taking place at the hotel. Since Omnivex software can simultaneously support multiple communication protocols, adding a wireless network for the mobile screens was seamless. The screens are able to access all information from the Omnivex DataPipe network and display scheduled information for the specified location.
Omnivex software allows guests to access information on the public displays directly via their standard in-room television screens. Hyatt Regency Chicago uses this feature to promote hotel services and amenities, and to showcase local events and attractions, helping guests have a more enjoyable stay while in the Chicago area.
Through the use of radio frequency identification tags (RFID) Omnivex software recognizes when a specified observer is in range of a screen and automatically changes the content from the regularly scheduled information to unique content that has been created for that particular viewer.
Omnivex Control software allows Hospitality Partners to communicate directly with the digital signage hardware installed in the hotel remotely from their central offices, to ensure that everything is operating as intended. The software continuously monitors the status of every screen as well as the PC connected to it, without a Hyatt staff member having to physically check on the hardware. The software automates an appropriate notification, should a problem occur.
Results
Omnivex and Hospitality Partners worked closely with Hyatt Regency Chicago to understand their requirements and concerns and implement a digital signage system that supported their core values and satisfied the needs of their guests. By interfacing directly to the Envision database, the system provides relevance to the viewer and eliminates ongoing operating costs. Omnivex software allows Hyatt Regency Chicago to help their clients find their way around the hotel and to conference and meeting areas with greater ease, while enhancing the environment to look more modern and technologically advanced. The installation of this digital signage network and the unique capabilities of Omnivex software enabled Hyatt Regency Chicago to maintain its position as Chicago’s premier hotel.
In 2007, this installation won the DIGI Award for corporate excellence in technology.
