Marcus®
Hotels & Resorts, a division of The
Marcus Corporation (NYSE: 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.
The Pfister Hotel Augmented Reality Tour (PAR) (Photo: Business Wire)
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 on www.pfisterAR.com
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.
For more information on the augmented reality tour, please visit: www.pfisterAR.com.
For more information on the latest news and updates from Marcus Hotels &
Resorts, please visit: http://media.marcushotels.com.
About The Pfister Hotel
Built in 1893, The Pfister Hotel has been the premier downtown Milwaukee
hotel for more than a century, and continues to celebrate a tradition of
gracious service and impeccable style; 2013 marked the hotel’s 120th
year as an icon in Milwaukee. The Pfister Hotel was purchased in 1962 by
Ben Marcus, who vowed to renovate the distinguished hotel to its
original beauty. Significant renovations were completed and a new
23-story guest room tower was built. In fall 2012, The Marcus
Corporation celebrated its 50th year of ownership of the
property. Home to the largest collection of Victorian art of any hotel
in the world, The Pfister is a AAA Four-Diamond property with membership
in two of the industry's leading organizations: Historic Hotels of
America and Preferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. The Pfister Hotel is
located at 424 E. Wisconsin Ave. in downtown Milwaukee. More
information and updates on the hotel can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thePfisterHotel
and on Twitter
(@PfisterHotel).
Marcus Hotels & Resorts
Marcus
Hotels & Resorts is a division of The
Marcus Corporation (NYSE: MCS). When it assumes management of The
Hotel Zamora in St. Pete Beach, Fla. on November 1, the company will own
and/or manage 20 hotels, resorts and other properties in 11 states. A
force in the hospitality industry, Marcus Hotels & Resorts provides
expertise in management, development and historic renovations. The
company’s portfolio includes a wide variety of properties including
city-center meeting hotels, upscale resorts and branded first-class
hotels. For more information on the latest news and updates, please
visit: http://media.marcushotels.com
and follow the company on Facebook
and Twitter
(@MarcusHotels).
About The Marcus Corporation
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., The
Marcus Corporation is a leader in the lodging and entertainment
industries, with significant company-owned real estate assets. In
addition to its Marcus
Hotels & Resorts division, the company’s movie theatre division, Marcus
Theatres®, is the fifth largest theatre circuit in the United States
and currently owns or operates 685 screens at 55 locations in Wisconsin,
Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and Ohio. For more
information, visit the company’s web site at www.marcuscorp.com.
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