Video Wall gives hotel guests a preview of amazing room views

In 2015 when the DoubleTree by Hilton was renovated, one of the key questions the team faced was how to best showcase what the hotel has to offer. In the words of Rajiv Dwarika, Chief Financial Office of the hotel, "One of the unique assets we have is the amazing views of the inner harbour and downtown area. We were looking at innovative ways to excite the guests when they come in the door, show them what a great place they've come to and what the view from their rooms would be."

After careful consideration, the DoubleTree team decided that the best way to wow their guests upon arrival was a video wall behind the reception desk that showed a live camera feed from the roof and the panoramic views the hotel offers.

Their next step was to find a video wall that was easy to use, could support 4k content and didn't break the bank.

The DoubleTree team partnered with ENS, a digital signage company and content management system based in Victoria. ENS recommended Userful as a simple and cost effective way to deploy eye catching video walls. The team installed 1x3 video wall with 55” display panels in portrait mode powered from a single Intel Core i5 PC. Userful’s ability to support 4k and larger content was one of the attractions. It allowed the DoubleTree to stream 4k video in real time from a camera on the roof. The video wall also offers the option to display other video content when needed.

The system was easy to set-up and run. “We got it going with very little training or specialized expertise,” said Dwarika. With Userful, everything is managed using a web browser with an easy drag and drop interface. Userful supports up to 60 displays from a single PC either as a single very large video wall or in multiple smaller video walls — or a mix of video walls and stand alone individual displays, all of which are managed with just one browser screen.

"We were looking at innovative ways to excite the guests when they come in the door, show them what a great place they’ve come to and what the view from their rooms would be"

Once the video wall was on site, Dwarika and his team recognized the potential within the flexibility of the Userful solution and started exploring other options including switching from the live video stream from the roof to recorded tourism videos. Dwarika points out that it’s easier and more effective to showcase the city’s attractions digitally using their video wall than it is to pull out old print brochures.

One of the things Dwarika says he still enjoys most about the video wall is watching guests realize that they’re looking at a live video stream from the building they’re standing in. “We find people standing by reception just watching what’s going on outside, spotting birds passing by.”

With the new Userful video wall, the DoubleTree by Hilton found a cost effective way to both aesthetically improve their lobby and also to showcase the hotel’s one of a kind view of the city.