23 June, 2009
InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts Debuts Microsoft Surface to Enhance Concierge Services and Guest Experience
The InterContinental Buckhead in Atlanta first to offer interactive “In The KnowTM” concierge services and facilities planning, for a unique, memorable experience.
ATLANTA – June 23, 2009 – IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON: IHG, NYSE: IHG (ADRs)], the world's largest hotel company by number of rooms, announced today its first Microsoft Surface™ deployment at an InterContinental Hotels & Resorts property. Providing its leisure and business guests with an interactive and memorable way to gain personalized concierge services and local insight, InterContinental is piloting several custom applications for Microsoft Surface at the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta in Georgia, with plans to deploy the technology to a broader segment of its global portfolio of 158 hotels.
Microsoft Surface, the first commercially available surface computer from Microsoft, is a revolutionary surface computing platform that responds to natural hand gestures and to the placement of real-world objects on the display. With a large, 360-degree, horizontal user interface, Microsoft Surface creates a unique gathering place where InterContinental concierge teams, meeting planners and guests can collaboratively and simultaneously interact with information and content, communicating with each other in a way that feels familiar, just like in the real world.
“Microsoft Surface enables us to take our commitment to facilitating and providing local, authentic and enriching travel experiences to a whole new level,” said Bryson Koehler, vice president, revenue and guest technology, IHG. “Microsoft Surface enhances our InterContinental Concierge Program, offers our guests unique new ways to interact with and experience digital information, and helps our concierges deliver memorable, value-add services.”
Leisure and business travellers to the InterContinental Buckhead, located at 3315 Peachtree Road NE in Atlanta, can currently experience the following features of its ‘In The Know’ concierge application.
· Points of Interest. The service offers individual touchpoints for information on restaurants, shopping and entertainment with an “insider” perspective that only local residents can know. The local concierge can easily update with fresh tips and suggestions on new discoveries or area hot spots.
· Interactive Maps. Using Microsoft Surface maps, the property’s concierge can draw and design personalized insider walking routes for each guest to take with them as they hit the streets to experience the city in their own preferred way.
· Concierge Video. In The Know integrates InterContinental’s destination videos from its industry-leading Concierge program. Microsoft Surface’s multi-user capability enables the concierge to help one guest with his plan for the day while another guest watches the video or uses another function.
Caption: Taking advantage of the Microsoft Surface
360-degree user interface and multi-touch capabilities,
IHG created customized applications that provide unique
local insight and meeting & planning services.
In addition, a Meetings & Events application helps business guests and future brides finish planning their next event at the InterContinental Buckhead property without leaving their seat around Microsoft Surface. InterContinental Buckhead’s professional meeting planners can offer photos of the facility, meeting rooms and amenities on the Microsoft Surface unit, providing a relaxing way to look at and select from the various offerings from the hotel including catering and decorations.
“Hoteliers are striving to differentiate in this competitive environment by delivering personalized, interactive and relevant experiences that their guests will remember long after their trip has ended,” said Sandra Andrews, U.S. hospitality solutions director, Microsoft Corp. “Microsoft Surface brings these experiences to life for InterContinental and puts the power to enhance its guests’ stay at the concierge’s fingertips.”
Following the pilot of Microsoft Surface at the InterContinental Buckhead, the company plans to offer its functionality to a broader segment of its 158 hotels in the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific. InterContinental expects to test additional features and functionality on Microsoft Surface, including deeper wedding planning capabilities, interactive games that can be saved for a later trip and applications that will serve as a touchpoint for transactions.
IHG and Microsoft Surface at HITEC
This week at the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference (HITEC) in Anaheim, Calif., IHG will be demonstrating InterContinental’s In The Know and Meeting & Planning Surface applications, June 23 – 25, in Microsoft’s Booth #674 in the Anaheim Convention Center.
About InterContinental Hotels & Resorts and InterContinental – Atlanta - Buckhead
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts has 158 hotels, located in more than 60 countries with local insight that comes from over 60 years of experience. At InterContinental we believe that superior, understated service and outstanding facilities are important, but what makes us truly different, is the genuine interest we show in our guests. Our desire is to help guests make the most of their time. We connect our well-travelled guests to what’s special about a destination, by sharing our knowledge so they enjoy authentic experiences that will enrich their lives and broaden their outlook. For more information, visit www.intercontinental.com and www.intercontinentalvideo.com.
The InterContinental Buckhead sets new standards of quality with international flair and southern hospitality. A Peachtree Road address puts guests close to Buckhead’s thriving business and shopping districts and provides easy access to attractions such as the Georgia Aquarium, the High Museum of Art, the New World of Coca-Cola and the CNN Studio Tour.
Media Contacts:
Charles Yap, IHG, +44 (0) 1895 512 341,
Ted Ladd, Microsoft, (646) 225-4722,
Laurie Woicik, Ignite for Microsoft, (425) 836-5689,
Notes to Editors:
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms. IHG owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, over 4,200 hotels and more than 620,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognized and respected hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®, and also manages the world’s largest hotel loyalty program, Priority Club® Rewards with 43 million members worldwide.
IHG has nearly 1,700 hotels in its development pipeline, which will create around 140,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years.
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.
IHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at www.ihg.com and information for the Priority Club Rewards program at www.priorityclub.com. For the latest news from IHG, visit our online Press Office at www.ihg.com/media