MILWAUKEE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Marcus® Hotels & Resorts, a division of The Marcus Corporation (MCS), today announced that its flagship property, The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, Wis. will be the first hotel in the U.S. to offer an augmented reality (AR) tour available to guests. To be launched during Milwaukee’s Gallery Night Friday, October 17, participants will be invited to download an AR application from their smartphone that will prompt them on a guided tour of the hotel’s extensive art collection.
At launch, ten of the items in the hotel’s world-renowned art collection will be interactive, with the goal of adding additional pieces in the coming months. The tour provides a real-time, digital, full motion experience for guests, featuring games, videos and other graphics. The app is free and is available for download, where guests can learn about the tour and how it works. The app will also be available on the Apple Store and Google Play, and can be used on any smartphone or Epson or Google Glass wearable.
“We now have the ability to provide millennials and tech-savvy guests the opportunity to connect and engage with a 120 year old hotel in a modern format. What a perfect way to visually learn about the story behind the pieces and engage with the items that make this historic hotel so unique. Many guests of the Pfister are interested in the stories and history behind this landmark hotel – AR will help us tell those stories better than ever before. We are excited to be the first hotel to offer a state-of-the-art augmented reality tour such as this and hope to expand the technology to other locations in the future,” said Chris Anderson, senior vice president of Marcus Hotels & Resorts.
Augmented reality, a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented, or supplemented, by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data, is gaining popularity among marketers. “AR is a creative way to capture our customer’s attention, and allows them to see our brand in a new way and engage with us on a completely new level,” added Anderson.
New Pfister Hotel Website
Marcus Hotels & Resorts also unveiled The Pfister Hotel’s new fully responsive website at www.thepfisterhotel.com. The Marcus Hotels & Resorts design team built the new website to fit properly across all screen sizes and tablets, utilizing responsive web design techniques. As new devices are introduced, the website is able to resize itself based on any screen size to make the viewing experience seamless. The newly branded website includes impactful imagery, a modernized look and feel and easy navigation for amenities, dining options and guestroom features. The new Pfister website is the first website to be built using a custom content management system developed in-house to meet the requirements of hospitality websites.
“Marcus Hotels & Resorts is unique in that the creation of advanced technologies and websites is done by a talented group of in-house employees. Whether creating guest experiences or showcasing our properties, we feel that this approach gives us advantages in speed to market, flexibility, and innovation,” said Peter Engel, chief technology officer for The Marcus Corporation.
Marcus Hotels & Resorts’ in-house design team has won recent awards for their outstanding work. The company received an award from The Web Marketing Association for the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa’s website in the category for Outstanding Achievement in Web Development. They also received two awards from the Horizon Interactive Awards (HIA), a leading international interactive media awards competition, winning a gold award for the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa website in the travel and tourism category and a bronze award in the restaurant and food industry category for the Kil@Wat website, located inside the InterContinental Milwaukee.
“We continually strive to inspire our guests and give them a unique experience when staying with us. Our cutting-edge technologies will provide state-of-the-art hospitality offerings to guests and residents alike, making The Pfister Hotel the first choice for those traveling to Milwaukee,” added Anderson.
