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Marriott Goes High Tech with Virtual Meetings
Barbara De Lollis | USA Today
June 30, 2009
In a nod that more businesses are replacing some trips with technology, Marriott International today will announce the installation of high-end, high-resolution video conferencing systems in 25 big city hotels, the company tells Hotel Check-In.
Marriott agreed to install AT&T’s Telepresence systems in 25 hotels across the globe in cities such as New York, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Hong Kong, Shanghai, Frankfurt and London. The systems will go into a mix of Marriott, J.W. Marriott and Renaissance hotels. Marriott expects some will be up and running by late October.
What Marriott’s doing is embracing the technology as a potential money maker. It sees the high-end virtual meeting rooms as something hotels can sell especially at a time when businesses are cutting back on costly overseas trips.
Consider this scenario: If groups located in Hamburg, Germany, and Trenton, N.J., want to meet, they can avoid costly and lengthy travel by simply traveling to Marriott hotels in Frankfurt and New York and renting their telepresence rooms rather than flying.
“As the 24/7 world economy becomes more interconnected, the need to hold small global meetings that cross continents and oceans will only grow,” Arne Sorenson, Marriott International’s president, said in a statement. “We believe telepresence will create more business meetings because people can travel shorter distances and easily connect with colleagues and clients around the world.”
Sorenson also hopes the equipment will give Marriott an advantage over other competitors, none of which have embraced conferencing technology to this extent.
Telepresence – with multiple, 65-inch HD monitors that show life-size images – is a rapidly growing technology, my colleague Roger Yu recently wrote. The most deluxe systems can cost up to $350,000, though cheaper versions are sold, too. It allows groups of up to about 20 people to see, talk to and joke with each other, even if they are separated by thousands of miles.
Readers: Have you tried a telepresence system? What did you think?
golightly1963
3 months ago
4 comments
One thing to watch out for is that, although it may be cheaper than travel expenses, Marriott is not an inexpensive place to host meetings. They charge for the meeting room, food and beverages must be purchased from them, and audio/visual equipment is an additional cost - not included in the room charge. Be sure to negotiate with them for the lowest price before booking! - This goes for any hotel, not just Marriott.