"A good Internet connection is the first step towards a successful event"

Can you please tell us about your career with NH Hotel Group?

I started my career at NH Hotel Group in a division that no longer exists, called Business Development. It was part of the Spain, Portugal and Andorra BU Sales Department. We were involved in several projects. One of the most challenging achievements was the international commercialization of the hotels regarding the NH Collection brand from Spain. NH Collection didn’t exist at that time and we gave its name to the Premium Hotels cluster.
After the re-opening of the NH Collection Eurobuilding in Madrid, I joined its sales team as a Marketing Coordinator.

What was your first experience with technology in the field of Meeting & Events?

My first experience goes back to the inauguration of the hotel, when we had to take advantage of the inauguration event in order to show the potential of the technological tools. We had to learn what they were and how they worked – holographic system, Smart Room, LED Vault – to show our clients the performance and possibilities of these tools. Plus, discovering together how these technological tools could fit into their events.

In what ways has event technology changed or improved since then?

The use of new technologies, on one hand, helps event planners save time and money. On the other hand, new technologies can differentiate us from other competitors. A technological event has that WOW! element all companies aim for.

From the point of view of a hotel, there is no better way to learn than to learn from experience. We interiorize the diverse possibilities of these tools only after organizing event after event. You learn when you fail, but also when you succeed. We have succeeded quite a few times so far, and we aim to keep succeeding.

Please, highlight what NH’s strengths in terms of technology

NH Hotel Group is eager to be pioneer in offering this kind of technology to our clients, from a holistic point of view. We assume all the work so that our client or the event planner doesn’t have to worry about a thing. We are also concerned about price, so we try to offer our technological services at a very competitive rate. Great investments must be made in order to offer less expensive technology to our clients.

Can you talk about a typical client request for technology, including audiovisuals and other services?

One of the most common requests I would like to mention is a high-quality connection to the Internet, cable or WiFi. Events no longer take place just inside the venue; our clients want their events to surpass all walls and connect to other venues through streaming. This connection should be stable and high quality because it’s the first step towards a successful event.

How is the technology from NH Meetings maximizing bookers and planners’ time?

Some tools, such as our 3D Meeting Planner Virtual Planner®, help you avoid a few trips, inspection visits, etc. In a nutshell, you can save your time and money. This tool allows you to visualize the specific setting for a venue of your choice. Once you enter the number of attendees, it shows you a 3D simulation of your event. The 3D view is much better than a picture or a 2D map, and you don’t need any knowledge or experience in design programs.

Are you seeing any new, popular tech trends for 2018?

The application of beacons. Recently, we have detected that some meetings planners are interested in the network of beacons in our hotels. Their goal is to send messages or reminders about an event directly into any compatible device in its operating range. The schedule information, specific content, F&B locations…for an event with a huge audience, the possibilities of beacons are endless.

Can you please tell us about an extraordinary or uncommon tech request from a booker/planner and how you solved it?

What comes to mind is the first time we used the Hologram to meet the demands of a client.
A film production company challenged us with a press conference about a movie release in Madrid without the director or the leading actor. They were in Berlin at that time and they couldn’t make it on time. We needed to find a solution or the promotion of the movie in Spain would be cancelled.
The client had heard that we had a holographic system in our hotels and wanted to know if it was available. And it was. In fact, it was the first holographic press conference in history. The director and actor connected themselves through a satellite connection from one of our hotels in Berlin and appeared in a holographic projection in Madrid, where the press conference had been settled.
What’s more, the client not only found a solution for their problem but ended up getting much more media coverage than they initially expected just due to the fact of using holographic technology in their release.