I centred my head in the computer camera and it measured the speed of my reactions as I dragged various images into the “yes” or “no” categories to show my travel desires.
TORONTO — The interactive hotel kiosk took up a large section of the lobby of the Royal York Hotel. There was a huge screen telling the story of biometrics and the AccorHotels Seeker project. The goal was to provide people with ideas of places to visit — including the Accor hotel in that location — by using biometric reactions and behavioural analysis.
I centred my head in the computer camera and it measured the speed of my reactions as I dragged various images into the “yes” or “no” categories to show my travel desires.
After a few false starts, I got the hang of it. I said yes to quiet beaches, couples walking through a city, beautiful vistas of mountains and fields. I said no to scuba diving, extreme sports and noisy-looking night clubs.
After a few minutes, the computer said my travel preferences were Thailand, Northern California or Germany — specifically the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, the Pullman Khon Kaen Raja Orchid or the Pullman Cologne. The computer got it right: Sonoma is home to oaky Chardonnay, my favourite type of wine; I have visited Thailand twice and the people are the nicest I’ve ever met; and Germany has more wine, beer, rivers and castles. What’s not to love?
My destinations: Northern California, Thailand and Germany.
Le Club AccorHotels, the loyalty program for world-leading travel and lifestyle group AccorHotels, launched ‘Seeker,’ on July 10. Seeker is an assessment of affinity that measures biometric reactions and behavioural analysis to unlock and gain deeper insights into what guests truly want and need in a travel experience.
In late July, Le Club AccorHotels unveiled a series of interactive hotel kiosks to bring the digital Seeker experience to select properties across North America; hence the display at the Royal York. The kiosks feature a design which evokes the in-person Seeker experience, while functioning as the online platform, including heart rate monitoring via web cam.
The launch of Seeker coincided with the integration of Le Club AccorHotels with Fairmont President’s Club, Raffles Ambassadors and Swissôtel Circle, effective July 2, 2018.
In these days of privacy concerns, where a Calgary mall came under fire after using facial recognition to gather consumer data, Ali Henwood, account manager at Chimera Collective, stressed that Accor is not collecting data; nor would they ever do so without permission.
Though the Seeker experience is not limited to loyalty members, Seeker participants who belong to or join Le Club AccorHotels will receive a special offer of 1,000 bonus points for stays through September 30th, 2018.
Alas, the setup at the Royal York is no longer available, but travellers worldwide can still discover their true travel desires online at SeekerProject.com.
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