Meetings and conferences is one of the fastest growing segments within the tourism industry. By far, hotels provide the most well organised conference venues in India for the MICE segment. Hotelier India speaks to senior management at various hotels across India to get their views on the topic.
Says Kadambari Sabarwal, director sales and marketing, Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel: “The MICE industry has been growing at a rate of 15-20% every year, not only because of the rising demand from domestic corporates and multinationals, but also, due to factors such as convention and medical tourism.”
While some conferencing tools are more suited for in-person meetings, others require participants to install a piece of software on their own computers before they can participate, and some conferences are entirely web-based and require relevant technology.
As a matter of fact, the most common mode of conferencing still remains in-room meetings involving devices such as drop-down screens and projectors, interactive whiteboards and audio systems consisting of microphones, amplifiers, speakers and wi-fi for connectivity.
Says Vishvapreet Singh Cheema, executive assistant manager, Ista, Bengaluru: “Our conference venues possess state-of-the-art equipment that fulfill all guest requirements including two drop-down projectors and screens in the banquet hall, along with Bose audio system set-up and two in-house LCD TV’s provided on request. We can have two cordless mikes simultaneously being used in our banquet hall along with inbuilt DVD players that can show any television channels directly without additional inputs. Apart from this we have standard offerings like white and flip chart boards, and live telephone connections for conference calling from the venue to any part of the world.”
In the segment of personal conference equipment, some of the latest products offered are electronic whiteboards like UB-8325 Interactive Panaboard from Panasonic that incorporate ultrasonic and infrared technologies to accurately sense screen position, electronic pen to control all computer applications and remote PC operations to save, print or email meeting notes and drawings for easy distribution.
Epson’s Powerlite 5600P conference room projector employs the latest triple-LCD technology for crisp, clear image, even if there’s a lot of ambient light in the room, and can project images across a great distance. Plasma displays panels (PDP) have become the ‘must-have’ in corporate environment as a presentation tool in boardrooms and meeting rooms.
The screens are available in varied types from easy-to-pull to motor operated front-and-rear projection. Some of the major vendors in this segment include Panasonic, Toshiba, Pioneer, and Samsung, with display panels ranging from 42-to-63 inches.
Adds Pooja Khanduja, properietor, Special FX: “Many hotels have now graduated from the regular plasma displays to Interactive Smart Board from SMART Technologies, that integrates the simplicity of the whiteboard with the power of a computer. This brings an interactive flexible tool into the meeting room, facilitating group collaborations by allowing participants to display and annotate computer files.”
However, it is the emerging web-based solutions that are having a profound impact on the conferencing market, as internet-based conferencing is significantly less expensive than traditional solutions, thereby attracting cost-conscious hotel customers.
In-audio conferencing use of Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP through equipments such as sound stations, advanced desktop phones and Microsoft optimised devices, offer real-time interaction through live audio and video streaming of meetings.
Polycom SoundStation2 Avaya 2490 is one such conference phone with voice quality for small-to-midsize conference rooms that resists interferences from mobile phones. Furthermore, wireless phone headsets have taken audio conferencing to the next level due to increased mobility and portability, such as Polycom SpectraLink Wireless Telephones and KIRK Wireless Telephones, designed and developed with the demanding hospitality user in mind.
It allows users to communicate in real-time from anywhere on the property and is ideal for small-to-medium sized hospitality accommodations. Another advantage of this wireless equipment is that it can be easily transferred from one device to another. Instead of unplugging and plugging, all that is required is the press of a button to connect to another device.
With the conference requirement in hotels getting more specific and precise, the integration of audio conferencing with video conferencing has completely changed the way the hospitality industry is offering communication facilities.
Says Hema Hariramani, director, sales and marketing, Courtyard by Marriott, Mumbai International Airport: “Today’s customer looks for an ‘experience’ rather than just a room, demanding anytime, anywhere access to information and services. Thus, all our banquets now have state-of-the-art conferencing facilities such as video input (video camera, web camera), video output (television, projector, computer monitor), audio input (microphones, CD/DVD player or any other source of audio outlet), audio output (loud speakers associated with the display device or telephone) and data transfer (analog or digital telephone network), LAN or internet.”
Digital cameras with video conferencing features are replacing CCD cameras in the field of modern conferencing. Says Madhu Joshi, marketing and communications manager, Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC): “The HICC display system includes auto dome cameras along with plasma displays for video distribution of the proceedings of the hall to the entire convention centre.”
Some of the popular manufacturers offering digital cameras with video conferencing feature are Sony, Canon and Fuji. These cameras come equipped with a built-in microphone so that the users do not have to attach a separate one to a computer to videoconference with sound.
On the other hand, Firewire digital video cameras provide true-to-life dimensions enabling participants to see facial expressions, make eye contact, and read body language. This is because Firewire handles the processing of video much better than USB does, allowing for smoother images and better quality.
Along with display systems, effective sound reinforcement arrangement provides for improved communication between several individuals. Says Sushil Samuel John, regional sales director, central Asia, Harman Professional Group: “For banquet halls, speakers specially designed for high ceilings are used, like the JBL, Control 47 HC. For conference rooms either ceiling speakers or column line array speakers are ideal like the JBL, CBT 50LA, CBT100LA and the CBT70J, to enable adaptive noise cancellation and echo cancellation”.
Some of the other frequently used audio system models in hotel board rooms are Peavey WS82, Crown D-75A, ClearOne XAPTH2, Denon DCM 500 and Cloud RSL6. Also, while many video systems such as from Extron, Sony and Panasonic have built-in microphones that track a voice within a specific radius and direct the camera to capture the current speaker, an alternate solution commonplace in conference rooms is the use of tabletop microphones and a remote control for tracking camera view.
For example, AKG GN 50 ESP20 gooseneck microphones with shock mounts and push-to-talk buttons are best suited for audio conferences. Digital Congress Network is the recent addition for large conferences, though generally limited to convention centres attached with hotels.
Says Joshi: “Along with sound reinforcement system for the entire hall, the convention centre also has state-of-the-art digital congress network. This is equipped with chairman and delegate microphone units for conferences and discussion seminars and up to six language interpretation booths with 1000numbers of wireless IR receivers with headphones, for reception of simultaneous language interpretation.”
Bosch and Philips are the popular brands for Digital Congress Network technology, which bring features of innovative digital technology such as delegate identification and registration, electronic voting, high audio quality and data transmission, with complete control over conference proceedings.
Another option some hotels now offer is web-based video conferencing – ‘Web Client’, that easily initiates and receives point-to-point video calls and multiparty video conferences directly from the browser. Easy to use, it requires no installation and connects to either existing or new personal contact lists. The Web Client turns any PC and laptop equipped with a webcam into a high definition conferencing system, enabling video calls from anywhere at any time. In addition, it is enhanced by a suite of advanced features including data-sharing, scheduling and URL-based invitations, conference call recording and retrieval, firewall traversal, and central management to guarantee users the full videoconferencing experience directly from the browser.
Adds Niranjan Limaye, video conferencing – vertical head, Enkay Technologies (India) Pvt Ltd, provider of suite of videoconferencing solutions for the hospitality industry: “Taj Gateway, Westin, Chola Sheraton and Sun-N-Sand are some of the hotels where we have provided audio/visual conferencing solutions. One of the products – VCBPro – is a high definition multipoint control unit that integrates multipoint conferencing, advanced video management capabilities, video recording, streaming, continuous presence, intelligent conference layouts for up to 25-participants at a time and a special presenter mode in a single, cost-effective appliance. Additionally, the latest A/V and data algorithms offer full transcoding ensuring that calls involving standards-based video conferencing endpoints connect and operate smoothly with minimal latency for larger conferences.”
He goes on to say that Emblaze-VCON’s xPoint, an executive room system, delivers TV-quality incoming video and crisp CD-quality audio over both IP and ISDN networks. With its embedded six-site multipoint calling ability, DualStream technology and session recording and streaming capabilities, it delivers full-feature functionality and standards-based interoperability in a single, easy-to-use appliance for smaller meetings. The vPointHD – high definition personal videoconferencing solution – is a versatile, key application for any PC or laptop user in organisations of any size, whose advanced capabilities include sending and receiving video and data streams and a built-in vMail application, allowing users to send video e-mails as well as record and play local videos.”
With the emergence of telepresence solutions in India, the conferencing market has undergone a paradigm shift. Cisco and Polycom, among others, provide telepresence high definition communication with myriad configuration and connectivity options, enabling groups to collaborate effortlessly across any distance.
This includes Immersive Telepresence for large groups, which is a powerful combination of high definition video, audio and content sharing featuring a cinematic, 16-foot video wall and an all inclusive luxury environment.
Says Neeraj Gill, managing director, Polycom India & SAARC: “The demand for telepresence in hotels worldwide is yet another point of validation that visual communication is becoming a critical business tool that will be ubiquitous within two-to-three years. Polycom has the industry’s most-comprehensive suite of telepresence solutions, spanning from desktop/laptop-based, meeting room-based to immersive telepresence solutions that create an intimate boardroom environment over distance.”
However, telepresence being a relatively new and expensive technology, it has yet to make its presence felt in the hospitality industry in a major way. Typically, most hotels tend to provide such facilities on client request through third party vendors. Explains Sabharwal: “Hotels need to provide customised solutions to business clients who sometimes have their own conference managers. We work with them to offer A/V solutions best suited to their requirements, through our regular specialised vendors for specific conferencing equipments and software.”
Apart from technology solutions, hotels also have to focus on in-room control systems as it forms an important part of creating the right environment and convenience.
Says Priyanka Paul, banquet sales manager, The Leela Kempinski Mumbai: “All our meeting rooms have individual room controls that control the entire range of electronic equipment including audio, video, projection, lighting, screens, blinds, security and communication, from one central location.” Moreover, interactive control touch panels, tabletops, wireless, wall-mounted or handheld solutions such as those from AMX, Panja and Crestron offer a state-of-the-art control solution designed specifically for conference rooms.
Adds Mohan KC, regional sales manager, Aesthetix: “At Taj Residency Thiruvanthapuram, we have installed control systems such as Crestron TPMC-8X, Crestron CP2E and Crestron PRO2 among others in meeting rooms and the board room, to offer seamless integration of audio/visual technology. There is a DVD for video mode, volume control of audio system including invisible ceiling speakers for voice reinforcement and wireless boundary microphones. In the board room, the access to the control system is via a 8.4-inch wireless colour touch panel that includes switching of sources.”
Hotels now offer green meeting packages wherein technology plays an important role in bringing energy efficiency as well reducing resources wastage. A new technology in this segment is the AMX Anterus RFID platform that provides comprehensive solution for conference management through a software application dashboard, to review and access business centre audio visual devices for its position and status.
Says Michael Gopal, regional director, business development – India & North Asia, AMX products and solutions Pvt Ltd: “The technology is being used by leading Indian hotels such as The Accor, Four Seasons, Hyatt International, Le Meridien and Hilton, among others. Apart from its functionality, this solution allows to conserve energy by powering up the A/V systems as and when required. If left on in a meeting or conference room, the device can be shut down via the LAN. The technology employed here is not manually managed by human resources but instead by an intuitive and dynamic radio frequency identification device (RFID).”
As conferences and business meetings continue their transformation from isolated events into communication platforms and hubs that reaches out to larger global audiences, conference tools will find greater applications in hotel’s events and meetings facilities. Says Hariramani: “With an increasing number of meetings today connecting an on-site network with an organisation’s network, video conferencing is becoming a popular tool in hotels. The advent of high-speed internet access coupled with viable immersive three-dimensional technologies will only accelerate these trends.”
Nevertheless, audio-video conferencing especially in the hospitality industry in India, still has a long way to go before reaching its maximum potential. Keeping with the trend, vendors too are making efforts like migrating the technology and trying to reposition it as a service rather than a product. A lot of budget and mid segment hospitality players who earlier were reluctant in adopting audio-video conferencing solutions are now expected to implement these. This is due to the fact that organisations have started realising that technology not only helps in better ROI but also attracts corporate customers.
Says Limaye: “For the hospitality industry, the implications of technology innovation are significant. For example, bandwidth abundance is likely to be an important driver of change in the future, as one can expect widespread usage of high-quality desktop video conferencing and its associated implications for business and convention tourism.”
