LONDON—When the Pan Pacific London opens here in early 2021, it will do so with a ballroom that it touts as the most technologically advanced in the city. With nearly 5,000 sq. ft. of space, the Pacific Ballroom—the hotel’s largest and most flexible event space—will offer enhanced technology designed to work for all manner of events and meetings.
“Our Pacific Ballroom has had significant investment placed in its AV capabilities through state-of-the-art smart technology,” said Sally Kefford, director of event sales at Pan Pacific London. “Clients will be able to utilize one or all three vast 4K LED videowalls simultaneously, supported by incredible sound and lighting systems, to best display content to create a desired ambience that reaches optimal engagement.”
Kefford noted that any venue doing back-to-back conferencing and dinner events faces the challenge of set up and de-rig times. “However, using our extensive in-house technology we will be able to reduce time risk,” she said, noting that the Pacific Ballroom will be pre-wired to accommodate broadcasting and will have the ability to take three interpretation booths with up to four languages, ensuring that set up times are reduced.
“With less requirement to bring in external AV and the savings for installation time, costs will also be reduced,” she said.
Of course, not all events need LED videowalls. “In this case, the videowalls can change their appearance to a wall paneling effect, which allows them to seamlessly blend into the wall decor,” she said.
Kefford noted that the three videowalls consist of one main screen and two smaller screens. “The screens can be used showing the same content, or are able to display alternative content formats at any given time,” she said. “The LED walls deliver the best-quality imagery through color definition on static imagery or blu-ray.”
Other uses of the screens can include the display of menus, itineraries and table plans, not only to reduce the amount of printing but so they can be changed at a minute’s notice.
“Sound was also an important element to get right,” Kefford added. “Most hotel built-in speakers are capable of dealing with presentations and video audio. For us, this wasn’t enough. Our built-in speakers are seamlessly integrated into the ceiling and have an amazing sound quality, capable of delivering a DJ or band set. The system can also accommodate up to 16 microphones being used at one time.
“Lastly, the lighting effects create the ambience,” she said. “From the glittering crystal chandeliers, integrated remote control pin spot system, gobos, and ability to add more, the Pacific Ballroom lighting technology completes a memorable event.”
The pre-function area will offer digital signage that can be used for static signage or to play videos. “Similarly, the ballroom LED videowalls can also be used to enhance engagement during coffee breaks, exhibitions and lunch periods, through interactive content or be used by event sponsors,” she added.
Other technological advancements in the ballroom will include superfast WiFi and 5G receivers, which can be enhanced with supplementary AV equipment with the use of ceiling suspension and power points.
Beyond the ballroom, Kefford said, VIPs and speakers will be “well looked after in the adjacent self-contained VIP Suite, where they can relax or rehearse at their leisure. The VIP Suite will have a live feed to the ballroom, allowing them to gauge their audience before taking to the stage.
“Pan Pacific London’s meeting rooms have high-spec AV integration into our LED screens and video and teleconferencing devices, so hosts can simply plug in and go,” she added.
According to Kefford, the design for the meeting space was aided by the fact that the hotel is in a brand-new building. “We had no architectural obstacles,” she said. “The result is a seamless high-tech AV solution with its own control room, where the event director can manage the event in terms of the lighting, sound and visuals. A communications system is also in place to enable communication with the floor manager.”
In designing the space, the hotel considered the flexibility of the ballroom itself. “It can be subdivided into two soundproof rooms using a skyfold solution. It will take minutes to separate the spaces, perfect for a fast-paced changeover for a multispace event,” Kefford said.