electro-media design
Le Meridien Hotel Boosting Its Bottom Line and Personalizing Service With AVaStar
AVaStar | November 12, 2019
By self-operating its audiovisual/event technology services via the AVaStar program, this Chicago hotel is seeing an almost 40% year-over-year improvement in profitability in less than six months [Gaithersburg, Md.—November 12, 2019]— AVaStar, the hospitality industry’s first subscription support program for audiovisual/event technology services, is driving profitability for Le Meridien Chicago Oakbrook Center. The contemporary hotel, featuring approximately 4,000 square feet of event space, has taken control of its destiny and relationship with customers. A few months ago, management began looking for a solution that would increase re...
It’s More Than Okay to Self-Operate Your Audiovisual Services
Jeff Loether | June 12, 2019
10 top advantages of providing your own AV equipment and staff By Jeff Loether Outsourcing audiovisual services to a third-party provider has its advantages but is not always the right choice for every facility. Hotels and conference centers that provide standard presentation and voice reinforcement services often choose to use their own equipment and staff since they have only occasional needs for advanced equipment, support or labor. To help determine if a venue should self-operate its day-to-day AV services, operators first need to evaluate their venues, the types of support required for the events they book, the capabilities of thei...
Does Your AV Services Provider Like Working for Your Hotel?
Jeff Loether | May 30, 2019
5 tips to creating a mutually beneficial working environment By Jeff Loether Outsourcing audiovisual services is a viable option for many hotels. In addition to lowering operational and labor costs, it ensures that your guests receive professional equipment and support. While the provider will handle most of the day-to-day responsibilities, the hotel should still plan and budget for the service and maintenance of any built-in AV systems and infrastructure. This will allow the AV services provider to deliver services as efficiently as possible, creating a win for them, you and your guests. If outsourcing is the business model that be...
Outsourcing Audiovisual Equipment Has Its Advantages
Jeff Loether | May 29, 2019
10 reasons to leverage the skillset of a technology-savvy AV services team By Jeff Loether Outsourcing audiovisual equipment is by far the dominant model in the hotel industry, especially in large hotels that cater to convention business. It is also the norm in standard business hotels that cater to group and local business meetings, as well as social business on the weekends. For self-operated hotels, however, outsourcing is not be as prevalent. These properties are typically smaller in size and cater to the small, executive level meetings market as they do not typically have expansive meeting spaces. These hotels have ownership suppo...
EMD Showing How Interior Design, Technology and People Can Work Together to Create Better Meetings at HD Expo
Electro-Media Design Ltd. | May 1, 2019
Designers, architects and contractors looking to integrate technology into their next projects are encouraged to visit Electro-Media Design in Booth 4974 May 15 to 17 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas [Gaithersburg, Md.—May 1, 2019]— For nearly 30 years, Electro-Media Design Ltd. has been bringing the science of "ArchiTechnologySM" to hotels and conference facilities across the globe. This month at HD Expo 2019, company executives will be discussing this concept with designers, architects, developers, owners' representatives and asset managers explaining to them why lighting, acoustics, architecture and event technologies need to...
You’ve Chosen to Self-Manage AV: Now What Happens If You Don’t Own ALL the Equipment Meeting Planners Are Asking For?
Eric Bracht | March 28, 2019
20 questions to ask when negotiating with an outside AV services provider – or there's AVaStar By Eric Bracht You've got a newly built or recently remodeled hotel, and you've made the decision to self-manage the AV services process. Bill, your hotel's banquet manager, was chosen to be responsible for the hotel's built-in and portable AV equipment. To help Bill, you've invested in AVaStar, a managed-services solution that provides step-by-step guidance to manage every aspect of the AV services process. Bill plans and details all meeting technology needs, including ensuring that portable and built in equipment is working and ready f...
5 Reasons to Add AV Management Software to a Hotel’s 2019 Capital Budget
AVaStar | September 20, 2018
Industry reports show that small- to mid-size hotels are placing a higher emphasis on hotel technology to meet planners' demands; Self-managing AV equipment process with AVaStar will drive revenues [Gaithersburg, Md.—Sept. 20, 2018]—Recent reports are showing that the meetings segment of hospitality is flourishing, and technology is of critical importance to event planners in venue selection. Meeting facilities with lodging – which hosted 87% of meetings 2016 according to the PwC Conference Center Report – need to put more focus on managing their built-in and portable audiovisual equipment to meet planners' expec...
Built-In or Portable: What’s Your AV Strategy?
Jeff Loether | August 8, 2018
Six factors to consider when balancing decisions between built-in and portable AV equipment By Jeff Loether To say that AV services are "out of balance" in some operations is an understatement. When properly managed, AV can produce the second highest profit margin in a hotel – behind rooms. However, as my good friend John Burns, president of Hospitality Technology Consulting, recently said, "No one understands [AV], and no one really wants to." If a hotel does not have enough AV rental revenue to share with an outside audiovisual company to manage these in-house services, trying to self-manage AV services can be a nightmare. With...
