AVIXA™, the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association, is spotlighting innovative hospitality installations at InfoComm 2018, North America’s largest conference and exposition for the professional AV industry, which takes place June 2-8, 2018, (exhibits June 6-8) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. AVIXA is the trade organization for the commercial audiovisual industry globally and producer of InfoComm trade shows around the world.
“For the last year and a half, AVIXA has engaged with designers and operators of leading hospitality brands to spotlight for their peers innovative applications of audiovisual technology,” said AVIXA Chief Executive Officer David Labuskes, CTS®, CAE, RCDD. “At InfoComm 2018, we look forward to bringing our industries together to explore further how AV can enhance the guest experience.”
InfoComm 2018, which is expected to attract more than 44,000 attendees from around the world, will host nine panel discussions and/or events focused on the innovative uses of integrated audiovisual solutions in the hospitality channel:
The conference program begins on June 5 at 12:00 p.m. with a tour of some of the most amazing immersive experiences to be found in Las Vegas. “AV Technology Tour: Hakkasan Group Nightclubs” will take participants behind the scenes at the coolest audiovisual-centric environments at three of the hottest clubs in Las Vegas: Jewel at Aria, Hakkasan at MGM Grand, and Omnia at Caesar’s Palace.
On June 6 the conference agenda resumes at 8:00 a.m. when Bill Lally, President of Mode:Green, takes the stage at the Westgate Hotel’s Ballroom G for a fascinating presentation entitled “Creating Interactive AV Experiences on a Large Scale.” Lally will discuss approaches to large-scale AV implementation including collaboration with other construction teams, selecting the best product for each installation, and designing an interactive experience – and will be referencing case studies including the W Hotel, Baccarat, 1 Hotel, and NASA.
Lally’s presentation will be followed at 11:00 a.m. by “AV Content Creators in the Hospitality Industry” that features FLOAT4’s Alexandre Simionescu, who will discuss how an interactive ‘Welcome Wall’ at the Sofitel Hotel Baltimore in Paris, France has transformed the guest experience and created a whole new brand identity for the hotel itself.
“Live Events for Hospitality Managers,” taking place at 1:00 p.m. in the same location, will feature Bestek’s William Magod, who will discuss how hospitality managers and event planners need to be ready to act as the client’s single point of contact for every event detail, including AV. This classroom style presentation will address the needs and requirements of a successful AV design and provide the keys to on-time and on-budget event production.
On June 7 at 9:00 a.m. in Pavilion 3 of the Westgate Hotel, a panel discussion titled “AV Technology for Innovative Hotel Design” will include representatives from Marriott International, PSAV, and Juba Wald Interiors.
At 9:30 a.m. there is a special “AV Technology Tour of the Wynn Race and Sports Book” that will take participants on an in-depth tour of this entirely redesigned betting mecca. More than a design facelift, this rejuvenation transformed the display systems from projection to LED and incorporated a new restaurant into the environment. Participants will see how the Wynn rethought the usage, look, and system design of the space from the ground up.
Then at 10:00 a.m. in Pavilion 11 of the Westgate Hotel, the focus will be on “Hospitality’s Thirst for Intelligent Infrastructure,” with Belden’s John Wojnicki discussing the new set of tech-driven expectations that are redefining the guest experience in hotels, resorts and casinos globally.
At 12:00 p.m. the action moves out of the Westgate Hotel for a special “AV Technology Tour of the OMNIA Nightclub,” the Las Vegas nightclub dubbed by Las Vegas Weekly as being “absolutely bonkers” in terms of the audiovisual experiences the club features.
On June 8 the setting moves to Booth N1646 on the InfoComm show floor for a 10:30 a.m. Center Stage presentation on “How Hotels Create New Demand with Live Music and Entertainment.” Pablo Henderson, Senior Director of Global Brand Marketing at W Hotels, and Paul Blair, the writer and musician who is better known as the DJ White Shadow, will discuss how hotels are expanding their historic, epoch-defining roles as social gathering spaces for creatives with striking new vibrancy today. They will explore how live music programming is evolving as hotels assert their status as cultural destinations. Beyond that, they will discuss how hotels are providing guests with new access to purpose-built venues for recording and playing music, how content creation and distribution, and the idea of creative spaces, is merging both within and outside the hotel ecosystem.
Finally, at 11:00 a.m. on June 8, David Kepron, Vice President of Global Design Strategies, Distinctive Premium Brands, for Marriott International will join Bill Lally, President & CEO of Mode:Green, for a Center Stage discussion entitled “How Hospitality Brands Use VR and Interactive Video to Engage Guests.” This forward-looking discussion will explore the future of hospitality experiences and look at how hotel brands are using new tools like AR and VR to better understand the guest experience and redefine the hotel design process.