InterContinental Hotels to Transform Event Planning with AR, VR

Accenture and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. have collaborated with InterContinental Hotels Group to pilot a solution that uses augmented and virtual reality to reinvent the event planning experience.

Developed by the Accenture Extended Reality (XR) practice, in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, the XR Event Planner solution places event planners, buyers and hotel sales staff side-by-side in a virtual reconstruction of an event space, allowing them to remotely envision and configure the layout in real-time. Piloted at InterContinental^® Los Angeles Downtown, the proof-of-concept recreates the hotel’s iconic Hollywood Ballroom in 3D, including accurate reflections of architectural features, layout, lighting, carpet design, table settings and fabric patterns. Users can modify room layouts, toggle between table and chair configurations, stage placement, decorations and lighting—all while collaborating remotely and adding notes for colleagues or the hotel set-up crew.

The solution represents an important step toward addressing challenges within the meetings and events industry, a $330 billion annual market in the U.S. alone. Currently, booking event spaces can be a slow and expensive undertaking, requiring event planners to scout geographically distant locations. The lengthy timeframe to close a sale results not only in lost opportunities, but also increased booking costs for both property owners, event planners and end buyers. Feedback from focus group testing and market analysis that Accenture conducted shows that the XR Event Planner could increase hotel revenue by up to eight percent. In addition, hoteliers estimate it could reduce sales cycle time, decrease booking costs and improve brand loyalty and brand affinity, particularly with millennials.