The Hotel Paradiso ****, conceived and designed by the mk2 group, opened in March 2021 as the very first cinema-hotel in the world, after 6 years of design, research and development.
Their new concept provides rooms that combine the hotel and cinema-going experience thanks to private screening areas.
In this video interview, Fabien Beauvallet, the hotel's Director, explains how the collaboration with Bowo has helped the hotel to provide an extraordinary guest experience.
“Through the Bowo solution, Hotel Paradiso guests can fully enjoy the cinema and hotel experience. [...] 100% of our customers use the tablets.”
Fabien Beauvallet, Director, Hotel Paradiso
The Challenges
Through this cinema-hotel, mk2's idea was to create a hybrid cinema/hotel experience, a unique and disruptive concept, a world first. The aim was to provide visitors with a memorable experience.
This ambition called for a very advanced digital solution that would be able to control all the professional projection equipment in each room. But that's not all: it was above all about offering guests a 100% digital journey, with access to the best VOD platforms, mk2's film library, and all the hotel's services, all from their bed.
It was therefore crucial that the solution be able to interconnect with all hotel and technical service providers (PMS, POS, wifi, room automation, etc.) and that it be very easy to use for the guests.
Thibaut Jacques, Innovation Manager, who also answered our questions, stresses: “We had to make sure the system was totally reliable. The digital solution was going to be the heart of the Hotel Paradiso in-room experience. All hotel guests were going to be using their tablets during their stay. In the event of a breakdown, the entire Hotel Paradiso experience would be impacted.”
Unique challenges, unique responses
A groundbreaking project means unusual specifications and bespoke development.
Quite quickly, the hotel's management decided to work with Bowo because the solution met the greatest number of criteria in the specifications. “It was the best fit for our project”.
The Paradiso hotel therefore chose Bowo to develop an application that would reflect the hotel's image and provide tablets in each of the 36 rooms of the hotel, from which guests can:
- access the hotel's different in-house services (room service, shop, events, etc.)
- book external services (dry cleaning, taxi, etc.)
- communicate with the hotel staff by 'chat'
- control their room environment: draw the curtains, lower the projection screen, adjust the lights, adjust the sound
- discover a selection of films chosen by mk2
- access films from different VOD platforms
- and above all, enjoy their chosen films on the big screen
The ultimate experience? Superior category rooms give access to a private box where a tablet is connected directly to the projection room, so guests can enjoy a private screening.
These developments required ongoing support over several months.
“We had the benefit of bespoke support from the Bowo team, who were able to work closely with mk2's technical staff and all of our partners and service providers. The Bowo staff were attentive to our needs throughout the development. Without the level of flexibility they showed, it would have been much more difficult to achieve the right result. ”
The soft opening also meant we could fine tune and tweak the solution after the early customer feedback.
The Bowo solution, which is the centre of the guest experience, generates additional revenue and streamlines operational processes.
For Fabien and Thibault, the Bowo app is really the heart of the hotel experience. And the numbers prove it: 100% of guests use the tablet.
80% say they are satisfied with use of the tablet. And the hotel has a 95%+ overall satisfaction rating.
The Bowo solution obviously contributes to creating this unique experience, but it also generates additional income. Today, on average, 20% of the restaurant turnover of the Paradiso hotel goes through the tablet.
Also, connectivity with the PMS and POS provides time savings and streamlined operational processes, since each order is automatically added to the customer invoice and sent to the kitchen staff. This automation means oversights and data entry errors can be avoided.
With its unique cinema-hotel concept, the Hotel Paradiso is shaking up hotel and cinema industry conventions and we are proud to support them on a daily basis.
“What worked well between mk2 and Bowo, is the fact that we share this philosophy of trying new things, testing things out, finding solutions and moving forward.” Fabien concludes.
Interested in finding out how Bowo can help you create a unique experience for your customers? Ask us for a demo.
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