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News for the Hospitality Executive |
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| NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 8, 2009 – Tim and Kit Kemp, owners of Firmdale Hotels, have gained a reputation for creating the hippest boutique hotels in London. And for their first venture outside of The City, the new Crosby Street Hotel in New York City’s SoHo district, they’ve implemented a number of new touches, including High Definition Video on Demand and Interactive Television from KoolConnect. In just a few short years, Firmdale has gained an international reputation due to the unique look and style of their London properties, each of which provide an impressive mix of modern and antique elements that have been admiringly referred to as an “English eccentric look.” No two of Firmdale’s properties are the same and for their 7th property and first outside of London, they’ve successfully combined some of the finest elements of their British designs with an unmistakably New York flair. One of these new elements is the addition of KoolConnect’s IntrigueTM HDVOD and Interactive TV solution. In addition to offering guests access to nearly 100 movies, including many in HD and several still in theatrical release, the main appeal of the KoolConnect system was its customization and the way in which it complimented the hotel’s design. “While we have just 86 rooms, we have approximately 40 different design schemes, so as you can see, image and atmosphere are very important to us,” said Mark Rupert Read of Firmdale. “We were very impressed with the work that KoolConnect had done at other upscale hotels but what really sold us was their ability to fully customize the TV experience to reflect our vision and goals for our in-room experience.” “Companies like Firmdale have been successful by doing things differently and guests have embraced the uniqueness of each of their hotels,” said KoolConnect CEO Dave Tahan. “KoolConnect’s ability to create a custom design, as well as to fully digitize all of the hotel’s guest information as well as to build specific interactive guest features really made us the perfect fit for the Crosby Street Hotel. This site has already become one of our marquee installations and we think guests are absolutely going to love this sensational property,” added Tahan. Firmdale’s Crosby Street Hotel officially opened on September 29, 2009. ABOUT KOOLCONNECT TECHNOLOGIES KoolConnect Technologies Inc. is the longest-running fully digital provider of interactive TV services to the hospitality industry. KoolConnect was the first company to offer HD VOD in the hospitality industry, and added IPTV (FTG over Ethernet) in 2009. Today, the company’s Intrigue solution – the most customized and fully integrated VOD system in the industry - serves nearly 20,000 rooms in prestigious properties in the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Dubai, and the Caribbean. To learn more about KoolConnect, visit www.koolconnect.com. ABOUT FIRMDALE HOTELS Firmdale Hotels' owners, Tim and Kit Kemp believe that "hotels should be living things, not stuffy institutions". With a series of prestigious awards under their belt, such as the Outstanding Contribution awards at the European Hotel Design Awards in 2007, Kit Kemp’s magic touch and Firmdale Hotels’ portfolio continue to grow with the Crosby Street Hotel opening in New York this autumn. With their first hotel opening in 1985, Firmdale Hotels today consists of six of London’s best boutique hotels: Haymarket Hotel, The Soho Hotel, Covent Garden Hotel, Charlotte Street Hotel, Knightsbridge Hotel and Number Sixteen. For more information on Firmdale, please visit www.firmdale.com. |
| Contact: KoolConnect Michael DiLeva 215-519-6447 [email protected] |