Outline
One of the finest 5-star hotels in London, Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill, is situated in the heart of London’s West End, within walking distance of many leading attractions and with views over leafy Portman Square Gardens.
As part of a multi million pound renovation, CGA Integration was appointed to install quality sound systems, concealed video & data projectors with lifts, digital signage and BYOD (bring your own device) connectivity across the three meeting and private dining rooms situated on the second floor of the hotel.
Challenges
CGA Integration had to design and install an AV system which would fit within the existing small ceiling voids. Projector lifts also needed to fit within these spaces and have sufficient ventilation for reliable operation. CGA Integration also had to ensure project timetable flexibility to fit within the overall renovation time frames.
Technical
All three rooms (Blenheim, Marlborough and Spencer) can be used as either presentation or dining room spaces. In both Blenheim and Marlborough, CGA Integration installed ceiling speakers to deliver presentation and background sound, rechargeable Sennheiser radio microphone systems for speeches and vocal reinforcement, motorised projector lifts and screens which were finished with Hyatt branding and imagery.
The projectors were BenQ 4000 Ansi Lumens, enabling guests to watch projections without the need to dim the lights or draw window blinds. Wireless presentation was enabled from Android, IOS, PC and Apple devices via an app and Apple airplay connectivity was installed as part of the BYOD system, allowing collaborative working; with four devices visible on screen at any one time.
All lighting, sound, video and air conditioning within these rooms is controlled via wall mounted Hyatt branded touch screen panels and or in-room ipads. Wall plates with back up HDMI, VGA and audio inputs were also installed. This system delivers advanced guest and hotel management control and is remotely supported by CGA Integration.
The Spencer room was designed with the above specification but in this room the projector was not retractable so was finished in white to match the ceiling to minimise visual impact. A microphone system was not fitted as the smaller size of the room meant it was not a requirement. There is also a small section of this room which can be separated with a sliding wall to covert the room into two discrete spaces. The audio system was installed to allow these two spaces to work together or independently of each other if required.
To ensure that the meeting rooms were DDA compliant, a portable induction loop was purchased to allow coverage for the hard of hearing in any of the these spaces.
Digital Signage was installed outside all three of the meeting rooms in the form of 15 inch wall signs, to indicate the current room user with appropriate logos and event timings. In addition, a wayfinding screen on a column was installed in the lift lobby to inform guests which events are being held in which room. All digital signage displays were linked to the hotel’s Invision system to ensure all meeting & booking information is accurate and current through automatic updates via the Invision system and to save staff having to re-enter this information.
Response
“It is becoming essential that conference venues and meeting rooms are compatible with the growing trend of BYOD and mobile technology.” commented Oliver Schwartz Associate Director of Events, Sales and Operations. “At Hyatt, we need to ensure that our facilities can operate in a flexible way; allowing delegates to connect and collaborate seamlessly and wirelessly from any device, without the need for dedicated hardware or a lengthy setup process. The AV systems CGA Integration have installed have enabled us to deliver this capability to all our guests.”
