Case Study.
Courtyard by Marriott
Courtyard by Marriott Uses Digital Signage to Improve the Guest Experience
In order to meet the evolving needs of their business travelers, Courtyard by Marriott underwent a brand transformation in 2007. They aimed to create new socially inviting spaces that were equal-parts relaxing and functional. They also updated their onsite dining and in-room amenities.
With the central focus of the project on their Courtyard Refreshing Business Lobby, the company wanted to infuse a fun style and flexibility into their lobby spaces that could be easily replicated across multiple locations.
Courtyard by Marriott approached Four Winds Interactive (FWI) to create a focal point for those redesigned spaces. They were looking for a visually engaging digital experience that could help provide brand consistency, but their ideal solution needed to be intuitive and interactive. It also needed to be able to promote the other available onsite amenities.
The challenge.
With more than 1,000 locations spanning the globe, Courtyard by Marriott required their Visual Communications solution to be powerful, scalable and customizable.
They wanted to be able to showcase a consistent mix of hotel and amenity information across all of their properties. In addition to those standardized features, Courtyard by Marriott wanted to feature location specific travel information, events, attractions and dining options in order to ensure that their guests got the most out of each stay. Considering the amount of information that Courtyard by Marriott sought to provide their guests, combined with the sheer amount of locations within their enterprise, a Visual Communications solution of the scope they required had never been attempted within the hospitality industry.
What needed to be done:
01. Create brand consistency
02. Provide guests with access to relevant information
03. Improve the guest experience with Visual Communications
The solution.
FWI helped Courtyard by Marriott develop and launch the completely interactive GoBoard®—an innovative Visual Communications solution that gives guests access to relevant information in an intuitive way.
Each GoBoard has a default welcome page that displays news feeds, sports scores, local weather forecasts and more. From that welcome screen, guests can navigate to four other pages that provide access to airline and travel information, local attractions, general hotel information and highlights from the Bistro, the hotel’s onsite dining venue. Each page has buttons that allow the user to get more detailed information about specific, flights, meals, events, and local attractions.
In order to simplify the ongoing management of the GoBoard, Courtyard by Marriott chose to use FWI’s Program Management service. A dedicated team of Visual Communications experts at FWI handles all template, content and software updates as well as the proactive monitoring of each GoBoard
COMPONENTS USED:
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES:
Application Configuration & Development, Branding, Content Design & Creation, Content Management, Creative Services, Education & Training, Hardware Planning & Quality Assurance, Program Development & Management, Project Management, Remote Monitoring Management, Visual Communications Management
The results.
Since the program’s launch in 2007, the GoBoard has expanded into more than 1,000 locations across 42 countries, and Courtyard by Marriott plans to continue that expansion to their remaining properties.
At the time of its launch, the GoBoard program was one of the most innovative Visual Communications solutions in the hospitality industry, and it remains so today. Analytics show that combined, the screens garner nearly 6 million interactions annually, signaling that guests appreciate the self-guided access to relevant information. The Hotel’s executive team is pleased with those statistics as well as the peace of mind they gained by outsourcing the ongoing management of their screens to FWI.
Added benefits.
- OUTSOURCED CONTENT MANAGEMENT
FWI maintains the GoBoard program, handling everything from content and template updates through maintenance, allowing the hotel staff to focus on their guests. - CREATED BRAND CONSISTENCY
Courtyard by Marriott uses their Visual Communications solution to tie multiple global properties together and give guests a consistent experience no matter where their travels take them. - PROVIDED ACCESS TO INFORMATION
The GoBoard provides access to information that is tailored to the guests’ needs in order to maximize engagement, provide an unrivaled guest experience and promote continued patronage.
What’s great about the GoBoard is that wherever you go, across the 42 countries where Courtyard exists, the GoBoard is our signature element.
Callette Nielsen, VP and Global Brand Manager, Courtyard by Marriott
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