Luxury Hoteliers Magazine 1st Quarter 2019 | Page 30

ABOUT Six Senses Zighy Bay Continues with Healthy Eating for Healthy Environments: Inside and Out Located on the northern Musandam Peninsula in the Sultanate of Oman, Six Senses Zighy Bay upholds a leadership commitment to community, sustainability, and wellness. The brand’s philosophy and approach to food is based on principles of local and sustainable sourcing, natural ingredients, and a less-is-more approach. Their culinary team believes that fresh is best – that’s why they take a simpler approach to preparation, focusing on quality, balance and food made from scratch. They avoid processed foods, additives, and common food allergens such as dairy and gluten. The resort also grows its own produce and works with neighboring schools to engage children in the importance of sustainable farming, local and seasonal produce, and healthier eating choices. Other sustainable practices include Six Senses’ zero waste philosophy, which entails upcycling materials for innovative reuses. For example, spent glass bottles are transformed into decorations and ornaments, and food waste is composted and used to fuel the organic garden. If this wasn’t enough, the resort produces high quality drinking water in its reverse osmosis water plant and bottles it in glass. This is not only eco-friendly but also body-friendly as eradicating microplastics ensures the absolute best water quality. Out with the palm oil, processed food and plastic – In with the planet. Six Senses lives and upholds this philosophy like no other. Dream Downtown in NYC implements Google Assistant Interpreter Mode The Dream Hotel Group and Volara (provider of a voice-based guest engagement software) have teamed up to implement a fully integrated, hospitality-grade deployment of Google’s live translation technology to improve the quality of interactions between hotel staff and guests from around the world. “Google is the leader in multilingual computing, so it’s natural that its voice assistant would be able to support the global clientele staying at Dream Hotels,” said Christian Cooper, Dream Hotel Group VP for IT. Dream Downtown in New York City is among the first hotels in the world to go 30 ILHA live with this technology. “By adding two fully integrated Google Hubs running Google Assistant Interpreter at guest check-in and the concierge desk, Dream is showing its commitment to delivering a frictionless experience for global travelers,” said Cooper. Talk to us Hoteliers - tell us your story! What interests you? How did you get to where you are today? Share with us, email and send pics to [email protected] When guests approach the front desk or concierge, they can say things like “Hey Google, be my Chinese interpreter” and simultaneous real-time translation will support the guests’ needs. Furthermore, Volara’s software enables Dream Downtown guests to ask the Google Assistant for hotel information, concierge recommendations, or services – each resulting in seamless, personal, and powerfully-curated responses from the hotel.