Hospitality

Checking in with Sony's Hospitality Team

Recent hotel installations show the range of Sony's ability to outfit a property with new technology.

The hospitality market is one of the fastest-growing segments for Sony Electronics' professional business, especially for Sony's "public displays," which are large-format LCD and plasma displays for use in hospitality, for guest-room viewing or digital messaging.

Recent hotel installations show the range of Sony's ability to outfit a property with new technology. The Chateau Inn & Suites located in Spring Lake, N.J. installed Sony displays in approximately half of its 37 guest rooms. They are a combination of 32-inch LCDs and 42-inch plasma sets and another Sony LCD 32-inch display installed in the lobby for digital signage purposes.

Robert Murray, hotel general manager, said use of the displays helps the hotel maintain an edge in a competitive market crowded with Bed & Breakfasts and other properties all vying for guests' attention.

"This is a tourist destination and the people who come here are looking for a distinctive experience," Murray said. "At Chateau Inn & Suites, we compete by offering higher levels of service and amenities than B&B's in every aspect of our operation and this extends to our televisions."

The guest room TVs are in the property's suites and parlors, where customers can receive more than 70 channels of cable TV.

"I associate Sony with high quality and reliability," Murray said. "We use the brand as one of our selling points: the TVs in the rooms aren't just TVs, they're Sony TVs."

The Sony TV in the lobby is another example of Chateau Inn's unique use of Sony hospitality technology. The set displays hotel information including pictures of the guest rooms, promotions and activities for the upcoming season.

"We're always pushing the next season to keep current and potential guests talking about us and to promote the image that we're a year-round resort," Murray said. "During summertime, the screen is flashing fall scenes and fall colors. Then in the fall, we promote the fact that we offer ice skating or we show images of kids tobogganing in the park next door."

On the other side of the U.S., business and leisure travelers who stay at Seattle's upscale Hotel 1000 are almost certain to get a room with a view for every stay. The downtown hotel is among the first luxury destinations in the nation to equip its entire property with Sony high-definition professional series flat-panel LCD monitors.

"Hotel 1000's relationship with Sony is an integral part of providing our guests with a unique and elegant experience during their stay in the Emerald City," said James Simkins of MTM Luxury Lodging, the hotel management company for Hotel 1000. "The high-definition Sony LCD monitors bring a level of sophistication and cutting-edge technology that that is consistent with the ambiance of the hotel."

The hotel's fully-integrated and modern design combines advanced Sony display technology with world-class amenities. Each of the hotel's 120 guest rooms, as well as its world-renowned BOKA KITCHEN+BAR Restaurant, the Spaahh Resort and Golf Club, are equipped with either a 40-inch or 32-inch high-definition Sony LCD monitor. Suites are outfitted with a second Sony LCD monitor in the common living area and bedroom.

"With a growing number of travelers becoming increasingly accustomed to high-end programming, our use of Sony HD monitors is an essential element in meeting the high expectations of our discerning guests," said Brian Flaherty, general manager and vice president of Hotel 1000. The high-definition LCD monitors found throughout the property also provide the Hotel 1000's "on demand" wireless IP network visitor entertainment services. This system offers HD programming over IP using the adaptable inputs available on Sony's line of LCD monitors.

Using the set's inputs, each Sony display is fed by an IP provider that allows guests to choose from a high-quality line-up of programming or from a library of mood-setting high-resolution art from some of the world's most-recognized collections. Guests can also interface their mobile entertainment devices with the monitors to view and listen to their own library of file-based music and videos on the flat-panel displays.

"Sony's commitment to producing industry-leading high-definition LCD displays has always been about immersing consumers into the best viewing environment possible," said John Kaloukian, director of Sony's professional display group. "That's why Sony's LCDs are the perfect complement for a hotel that prides itself on attention to detail and an eye for nothing less than first-class service, like Hotel 1000."

Hotel 1000 is outfitted with Sony's professional FWD series LCD monitors, which use Sony's WEGA Engine™ system to optimize resolution and sharpness and provide higher contrast, while decreasing digital noise. Each HD unit is capable of 1366 x 766 lines of resolution.