Meetings Focus sat down with the Hyatt Regency San Francisco and Encore Event Technologies to discuss how technology is shaping meetings.
Roundtable participants included:
Darren Phalen, Director of Innovation & Customer Experience, Encore Event Technologies
Stacey Edinger, Director of Sales & Marketing, Hyatt Regency San Francisco
Michael Hearell, Director of Event Technologies, Hyatt Regency San Francisco
MF: Hello, can you introduce yourselves and the hotel?
SE: The Hyatt Regency San Francisco handles events from small, single-day meetings to multiday conferences for 1,000 people.
MH: Encore handles event technology here at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, from videos and audio recording to high-end Internet networking.
DP: Encore is in about 270 hotels throughout North America.
MF: How have event technology demands from meeting planners changed over the years?
SE: As a salesperson, we usually see the RPF first. Five years ago planners would give us rates, dates and space, that’s all. Now, the initial request asks for details that used to come later in the process, like stage install or device connectivity.
DP: Technology is something that is now in every person’s hand, so we have an educated clientele. Our job is to determine exactly their event needs and to remind them to think about technology in the broad sense of an event landscape.
MH: We are seeing movement toward digital solutions, more paperless meetings and less printing and signage.
SE: Presenters are now able to now bring the audience in as participants.
DP: There is much more elegance to the interactions between the event attendee, the organizer and the technology. And we are trying to bring event apps to every group, not just ones with a big budget.
MF: As a supplier, what should planners be asking for?
SE: The customer is a technology consumer just like us.
MH: We see planners come in and say “We need Internet!” without knowing what that truly means for their event. So we take time to look what it is being utilized for. We don’t just hand them a generic solution.
SE: When the customer has three bids in front of them that all include “Internet” but vary widely in price, that’s when the hotel salesperson should work with their tech team, so planners know what they’re buying.
MF: How do the tech offerings at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco compare to other hotels?
MH: In 2012 we upgraded our connectivity and wired it for the future, with a lot of speed and strong coverage. We can theoretically hold about 4,000 concurrent devices. We can isolate groups so data is not crossed, which enhances security.
DP: Another major selling point is our failover potential. We utilize multiple Internet service providers, so if one line were to get cut somewhere, we have two circuits backing it up.
SE: The built-in redundancy is unique to us, as is the separation between our guest room tower and meeting space systems. We hope for the best but prepare for the worst!
MF: What’s next for groups and meeting technology?
SE: The phobia when everyone got their own devices was that iPads would replace meetings, but now the mindset is that they’re an enhancement. As a company, we are looking at ways to use technology to improve the guest experience in an unobstructed way.
DP: From a tech standpoint, the ability to instantly react is important, since don’t know what a decade from now will look like.
MH: There is no sign of progress slowing down, so we are future-proofing. Meetings are going to become more digital and more interactive. The accessibility will tie everyone together as costs decrease and more people can afford devices.