satis&fy Stages Starwood Hotels Showcase
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (Starwood) presented its line of luxury brands, The Luxury Collection, on March 7 through 9 at an event timed to coincide with the 2011 International Hotel Investment Forum. To this end, the hospitality corporation commissioned a 180 square-meter showcase to be set up in Berlin’s InterContinental Hotel. Starwood New York brainstormed the concept and provided a draft blueprint, while satis&fy AG Deutschland (satis&fy) planned and implemented the room-in-room showcase.
A separate space
The InterContinental’s fireplace-equipped lounge provided the setting. satis&fy converted this venue into five rooms cordoned off from the comings and goings at the hotel. “This was a task of great structural complexity," notes satis&fy project manager Aleksandar Dojcinovic. With this showcase, satis&fy managed to create a self-contained ‘brand world.’ The objective was to train the spotlight on the hotels and resorts’ highlights, history, and heritage, thereby emphasizing their quality and underscoring the brand-name’s premium positioning.
A clear concept
White was the dominant color for the understated interior decorations. The company laid out glossy white parquet laminate flooring in nearly all rooms and set up more than 300 square meters of white decor panels that served as walls. A tunnel crafted of blue nettle fabric provided a passageway to The Luxury Collection world and brand experience. Conference participants passed through it to arrive at a ‘50s-style reception counter. It was flanked by a room divider emblazoned with an eye-catching digital print of the brand logo.
Multimedia walls
Located adjacent to the reception area, the 60 square-meter Branded Room conjured a lounge-like ambience. In contrast to the other rooms, it was decorated in warm hues, with multimedia wall-scapes evoking a modern vibe. Ten touch-screens set into the back wall presented the ten hotel brands that make up The Luxury Collection. The lighting was also elegant and subdued, with LED lamps illuminating the plasma screens from above. Comfy red Egg chairs invited visitors to kick back and soak up the atmosphere.
Baroque splendor
Visitors moving on from the Branded Room entered the 55 square-meter Palace Room, which showcased the range of luxury and lifestyle hotels. Its visuals certainly caught the eye, with white baroque furniture sourced from a Berlin theater, crystal wall lamps and chandeliers, a large dining table in the center of the room, and 40 picture frames painted white in the satis&fy workshops. Some were sourced from the satis&fy materials pool; others from antique stores. They provided a suitable setting for pictures of select hotels, which in turn added a splash of color and a lighter touch to the room.
Cultural treasures
The Library Room presented The Luxury Collection resorts and the local highlights at some of the world’s most beautiful places. Conference participants had to negotiate a few stairs to enter the 40 square-meter room. It was equipped with a custom-fitted bookcase holding 500 books painted white. However, 78 books stood out from the monochrome crowd. satis&fy had adorned the spines of these books with digital prints featuring the color schemes and logos of the individual resorts. Four niches in the shelves provided fitting showcases for select cultural treasures from India, Thailand, Greece, and Argentina. Visitors came away with an authentic impression of what makes these destinations so special.
Indulging in one’s passions
Golf, wine, gourmet dining, the spa experience, and art figure prominently in all of the Group’s hotels and resorts. The 45 square-meter Modern Room picked up on this theme. A 2.9-meter tall asymmetrical set of shelves, conceived by designers at Starwood New York and built by satis&fy to their specifications, was the room’s visual highlight. Made of white-faced hardboard, this piece of designer furniture was hand-filled with 2,000 golf balls, 500 wine bottles, and 300 white towels. “It took a three-man crew eight hours to glue the golf balls to the shelves," says Aleksandar Dojcinovic. The wine bottles had been painted white and adorned with silver capsules in the satis&fy workshops. Digital prints on the walls and on fruit bowls placed on a bar sited at the room’s center added a dash of color.
Small but inviting
The final room was an 18 square-meter cocktail lounge and meeting room. It provided the perfect venue for Starwood executives to confer in a pleasant atmosphere. Again, white was the color of choice. satis&fy had draped gathered white nettle fabric throughout the room, and furnished it with white leather sofas and cube-shaped tables. The ingeniously subtle lighting was reflected in the high-gloss white flooring, adding yet another stylish touch to this evocative presentation of The Luxury Collection.
Powerful effect
“We worked for four days straight in eight-hour shifts to make this happen, with both our Karben headquarters and Berlin subsidiary contributing to this joint effort. We succeeded in realizing every detail of a draft that had been visualized in renderings, and built a showcase whose clean design and luxurious ambience underscore the brands’ emotional appeal. The result was awe-inspiring. Everything was just right," noted the clearly delighted project manager.
satis&fy AG Deutschland has earned a top spot among European providers of event technology with its ability deliver a one-stop solution. This end-to-end offering encompasses lighting, audio, video, presentation, and stagecraft technology and services. The production company also constructs exhibition stands, and offers set, graphic, and 3D animation design services, as well as furniture rentals. Its equipment and materials pool is one of Europe’s largest. The event service provider’s holistic approach and full-service offering, all from a sole source, are among its greatest strengths. Headquartered in Karben, the enterprise employs more than 260 people. It maintains further branches in the Westphalian town of Werne and, since 2006, in Berlin. A subsidiary company operates in the Netherlands.
For more information, contact:
Katrin Fougeray
marketing & communications
phone: +49 (0)6039/9120-983
e-mail: KatrinFougeray@satis-fy.com
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