Telepresence

The increase numbers of user preferring to attend virtual meeting nowadays is reasonably high. According to MPI Hybrid meeting Survey, three mains reasons behind the preferences regarding typical meeting and event organising lay on travel budget, cannot be out of the office and cost of event. Several choices of virtual tools are in trend such as webcasting, webinar, web conference, video Conference and most interesting and complex one here is telepresence.

Telepresence is perceived as useful tool not only for the business industry but environmentally friendly (decreasing carbon footprint and air pollution). Moreover, it creates human experience of being fully present, enabling all parties to connect to one another on demand, enhancing more channels of communication as well as facial expressions and other body language.

Digital Video Enterprise (DVE) is global company which presently provide telepresence targeting wide range of users as followed:

Ø  University Education

Ø  Healthcare

Ø  Judicial and legal

Ø  Government

Ø  Corporate training

Ø  Manufacturing and Industry

Ø  Business Communication

Ø  Public access

Ø  Events and Conferences

Ø  The total telepresence corporation

Ø  File and Television Studios

Innovative and potential products offered are such as Immersion room/podium, Transparent Augmented Reality Telepresence, 3D Transparent Display, Telepresence Array Room, and Eye Contact Silhouette.

This transition is extraordinary. New experience is ready to be created with this high technology that will connect the world together as one. No more wasting time on the plane and same style of meeting, global reach, less lead time to organize the event, higher flexibility on time management, and records provided. Using high technology for your meeting/event is claimed to also increase your professional, reputation and prestige in the eye of the world. On one hand, undeniably it seems to be more profitable than the lost for all parties. It is yet thinkable as well that with this high technology, the cost of service is still quiet high. For example, DVE: $150,000 / Rental Rooms: $299-$899/hour and up. Other related companies are such as Cisco Telepresence: $300,000, HP Halo: $349,000, and Teleportec: $30,000 per installation.

According to the prices and target markets mentioned above, it demonstrates the main users to be in top level of management and international type of company where the price is not their sensitivity. Price reduction in order to reach lower level of management as well as increase number of users could be possible eventually. The question here is that what percentage of usage that actually use this complex tool and guarantee that they increase their profits and revenues after all. Apart from that sort of downside, it is agreeable that soon enough in the meeting and event industry, this great assistance will gradually take over human roles, no matter how important face to face interaction is.

Marion and Rosie

 

 

 

Sources: cisco.com/telepresence

dvetelepresence.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepresence

www.corbinball.com/assets/skema-2.pdf

http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/community/features/articles/blog/telepresence-makes-its-presence-felt/?cs=32843

Inamo: The Restaurant of the Future

A new concept in restaurants has been adopted by Inamo in London.  The restaurant relies on the latest technologies, such as augmented reality, to entertain and provide a high-end service to their customers.  Specialised in Asian food, their target market are customers that are fans of both this food and technology.

                All the tables are interactive and include a touch-screen mousepad (not the whole tabletop is touch-screen) so that customers can browse through the menu as well as order their meal through the interface.  This allows the restaurant to save on staffing costs as very little waiters are required.  Projectors are placed above the tables which project the menu, but also allow the customers to ‘theme’ their tables by adding a backdrop from a large variety of choices.  This makes the dining experience much more interactive from the customer’s point of view, and also helps the company streamline their operations as they receive orders directly to the kitchen in real-time.

                A big advantage of this system is that waiting times are less felt by the customers, as they have a multitude of things that they can do while they wait.  As mentioned above, they can mess around with the different table themes available to them.  They can also watch the kitchen prepare their meal through the webcam set-up for this purpose.  Finally, clients can also choose to play games to make the time pass quicker between their order time and their time of service.  This is particularly interesting for diners attending the restaurant with their children, as these games and interactive tables provide them with entertainment.

Photo source: freedigitalphotos.net

                Some disadvantages exist with this type of restaurant however.  An important one is the fact that this is pushing customers to become less social as they interact with the tables rather than with themselves.  Especially with the idea of having games added into the mix, which makes people lose interest in social interaction at the table.  Although it is an advantage for the company to reduce their waiting staff, it is disadvantageous for the workforce in general, as this means technology is replacing human jobs.  It is slightly awkward that the entire tabletop is not touch-screen when browsing the menu and selecting food and drinks, as we are very accustomed to using touch-screens today.

                Could this concept be the new restaurant of the future?  Will more and more restaurants choose to adopt this idea to provide a more interactive service to their customers?  In our opinion, this won’t be the case.  The traditional restaurant is not in danger of being replaced by the interactive restaurant, as customers still want to be served by a waiter, and have social interaction when they go out.  This interactive restaurant concept is more likely going to appeal to a younger demographic who is more technology-friendly, and used to multi-tasking with multiple devices whilst interacting with friends.  As it stands now, there is a low number of restaurants that offer this type of service and concept, so we will have to wait and see how this idea develops in the future.

Sources: http://homesweetlondon.wordpress.com/2013/09/04/inamo-le-restaurant-interactif-de-londres/

http://golondon.about.com/od/panasianjapanese/fr/Inamo.htm

The mobile access to your event: New XING EVENTS App

For our last blog we wanted to do something different. We were inspired by all technology and apps that can be used in the event industry. After a bit of research we have decided to look into Xing Events software developed by the Amiando company.

It is an online event managing as well as ticketing software. Registration is free of charge, which is why we find it so appealing. It offers event promotion, either with social media (FB,TW), e-mail, targeted online advertising on Xing network, or viral marketing. There is also a possibility of promotion codes, which might make it more appealing to attendees. For event organisers Xing offers a custom registration form creation, design and even free webpage implementation. Offering a variety of different event types: conferences, seminars and corporate events, you have the ability to further adapt it to your event type. With secure payment method attendees can have no concern about ticket payment. At this point it is important to say that there is small charge for each attendee of 0.99€ and also 2.95% attendance fee and additional payment processing fee of 2.95%. To put it into perspective: for a person attending it will cost 1€ + 5.90% of ticket price. Which is a reasonable amount to pay for a very well organised event. The software offers a structured attendee list, with constant online monitoring possibility and also a detailed analysis with statistics and charts provided online. There is also a cancellation possibility for those who are unable to attend.

Whilst the XingEventsApp is available for AppStore and PlayStore, it reaches most users, who can then access event lists with similar events, depending on their profile. The application enables people to discover your event ­­­while they browse events and exchange information.

Guest lists are more transparent than ever, as they not only show a complete event guest list but as well interesting people to meet at the event. Furthermore, it shows events in the near. This gives your participants the possibility to find relevant and suitable events from the long list of events organised on XING. Furthermore, it is possible to communicate in the app with other participants before, during and after an event.

That said, there is only a matter of getting the people who attended to the event. For that Xing Events offers an entry management software called EasyEntry free of charge, which is appealing since it simplifies the ticketing of the event, along with security. It uses either a barcode scanner or a webcam, access to the attendee list either online or offline and on-site badge printing, registration and payment. Also the ability to check-in for a sub event such as work-shops and debates for example. The badges made for the people attending simplify the small-talk and making new acquaintances. These can also be customized upon request by amiando.

We find this types of apps interesting because it shows how important role mobile technology has become to us. And people from marketing department know it and they know how to use it!

Tina Stojanovic

Karen Madrigal

Source: http://blog.amiando.com/2014-01-13/innovative-smartphone-app-for-your-event-new-xing-events-app/

The city should push its tourism industry forward

The city should push its tourism industry forward

Ten years ago, business tourism emerged. What is it? It deals with more limited and focused subset of regular tourism. During business tourism (traveling), individuals are still working and being paid, but they are doing so away from both their workplace and home.

Montauban owns special assets

"The proximity to Toulouse, the accessibility of the city 30 minutes from Blagnac airport, train station, cross the highway at the junction of the A62 and A20, gastronomy, anchoring nature, label City of Art and History, river tourism, walking , hiking are all assets that we use to capture this demanding clientele. Our role is to develop these multi-faceted, in line with the quality of reception. This is a big job ahead and we must be able to give an answer within 48 hours, "says Françoise Puech, Director of OT.

In order to meet the demand for business tourism, hospitality is an essential element to attract tourists.

Montauban offers many advantages among which the capacity is extraordinary.

It seems simple to combine business and pleasure. The main targets are business men or associations, participating to diverse events such as conferences, exhibitions, seminars and so on.

Both the city and the surroundings must offer essential activities such as gastronomy, entertainment, shopping, and much more.

The team OT has to prospect in all directions from companies and CE.

A long breath is needed, which induces the organization of events and attractive, activities that drain a professional audience, beyond the boundaries of the city and the department.

However, there is a limitation since Montauban is closed to Toulouse, the city may focus on certain facilities and such important aspects so the clients don’t want to move to Toulouse.

Published on 04/04/2014 at 03:48, updated on 04/04/2014 at 07:55

La Depeche du Midi, http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2014/04/04/1855283-montauban-booster-le-tourisme-d-affaires.html

TravelPony.com: Let’s ride!

TravelPony.com is a brand new hotel booking website created in 2013. The concept is simple: Register with your Facebook ID and get the best rates available: between 10 and 70% below the big travel sites! 

The question is: How is it possible? 

TravelPony relies on their customer to advertise the website through word of mouth. Indeed, when you book your hotel you just have to click a button and your deals appears on your Facebook page. TravelPony is riding on the social media wave to get free marketing and international recognition. How many friends will see your post and say “It’s the best price I’ve never seen!”? 

The site is creating a real relation of trust with the customers. Indeed, if you find a deal, they ask if you’d like to tell your friends via Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. If you don’t want to share, they allow you to check a box reading “I promise to tell my friends about this amazing deal.” Indeed, it’s in your interest: more your share, more you’ll get low prices. 

For the moment hotels available on the website are from 24 cities: 22 US cities, London, and Paris. They are from mid-range to luxury hotels, and the customer can book 6 months in advance at a maximum. However it is not only allowing last minut reservations and the client will get the best rates every day. 

Conclusion

This social way of booking reaches already 20 markets with over 2,000 top hotel partners, making it one of the best sites to get a deal and book a hotel room… And it’s a beginning. 

 

We choose to talk about this website because it is an innovative way to find deals on the internet, which will compete with kayak.com, booking.com and others online booking portals. This engine has been tested by other travel-bloggers and they all agree to say that it a quick, easy to use website, based on a fair relationship between the actors. 

Sources: 

http://www.travelpony.com/pages/about

http://www.adventurouskate.com/travelpony-review-i-cant-believe-how-cheap-these-hotels-are/

http://www.so-many-places.com/2013/12/book-hotels-travelpony/

Social Media for Events, How to Do it & Do it Well

If used correctly, social media networks help event planners to better understand their target makets as well as to engage attendees prior, during and after the event.  Through this excitement and the buzz around the event can be prolonged.

However, different strategies have to applied pre, during and post to the happening.

Identify your audience

It is vital to know who will be attending your event. Different social media channels are more appropriate than others in order to reach your audience. As can be seen in the chart below Twitter is seen as the best ways to reach attendees that come from around the globe e.g tradeshows. Facebook is a great way to engage attendees when organizing a B2C ever.

Monitoring tools

Updating and monitoring your social media networks might be very time consuming. Therefore, it is a must to use tools such TweetDeck, Hootsuite and Commun.it to automate processes, schedule posts and follow your hastags.

Content of your posts

Do not abuse online networks to spam your followers with information about your own event. Provide an added value to your audience by including posts about industry news, publications of key leaders, tips etc.

During the event

This is the time when online activity will be most active. As an event organizer you have to make sure that someone is dedicated to post updates and react to both positive and negative comments. Immediate feedback from attendees can help to not only improve the event in the future but also to adapt the current program.

After the event

By keeping content alive people who could not attend the congress are able to be informed about what was going on. Posts can include interviews, photos, conference proceedings and the like.

Measurement

Doing all this however makes only sense if ROI is measured afterwards. Analytics regarding follower growths, number of shares, engagement rates and influencers are only some of the tools that can be used.

To conclude, it is vital to plan social media and use it to nourish your audience with content that is relevant to them.

Source:

Carvalho. (April, 2014). Social media for events, how to do it & do it well. Retrieved April 11, 2014 from http://evvnt.com/2014/04/social-media-events-well/

Pictures: 

http://evvnt.com/2014/04/social-media-events-well/

By Agathe Domenach and Anja Gunz

“My Flightpath” launched by British Airways !

Today, technology is everywhere, even in the sky !

A new online tool has been launched by the airline company British Airways: « My Flightpath ».  The company wanted to create a new tool, which will offer fun and interactivity to its customers.

This new application will allow passengers to make their personal blog about their own travels. The condition is to be a member of the British Airways Executive Club. But the good news is that each passenger can become a member of this club without extra charge, only by booking flights with this company.

Principle:

This website will be presented as a timeline (like the famous social network Facebook) with the various data presented through charts and graphs. 

On this page, passengers will record all their flights and the different destinations they went to and visited; which at the end will allow them to enjoy their personal travel map. It will be like a private logbook. Furthermore, they will also be able to check the number of miles they collected being member of British Airways Executive Club.

Furthermore, another function will be available on this website: “My Passport”. Through this platform, British Airlines will offer stamps to its customers, according to the number of miles obtained at each flight by them.

In order to create interactivity and favour networking, passengers will also have the possibility to share information and opinion on different social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.

The objective of this online tool is to give the opportunity to all passengers to enjoy their flights and follow their travels, but also to make the flight attractive and encourage people to continue to travel with this company.

Testimony of the director of customer engagement Ian Romanis:  “We wanted to give customers something that would help them to capture the magic of flying and we’re sure they will enjoy sharing their travelling milestones with their friends.”

We decided to talk about this new feature because we think that it is a good way of differentiation for British Airways. It will also improve customer experience and it represents a real added value for the relationships between the company and its customers.

Article source:

http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/my-flightpath-brings-travel-history-to-life/

Picture source :

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net