20 November 2008
'Think Space' boosts business brains
- New Think Space innovation to alleviate travel fatigue in frequent business travellers
- Interior designer, Gilian Schrofer, announced as third innovator in Think Tank campaign
- Think Spaces in selected Crowne Plaza hotels from today
Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts has today announced the next contributor to its Crowne Plaza Think Tank campaign - interior designer, Gilian Schrofer. As his innovation, Gilian has created a bespoke ‘Think Space' installation, which has gone into Crowne Plaza hotels in Belgium, Germany, the Middle East and the UK today.
The Think Space has been designed to reinvigorate weary business travellers arriving at the hotel after a flight or journey. The idea behind the Think Space is that the traveller can spend five minutes within the specially designed space and the experience will stimulate their mind, ensuring that they are refreshed and productive for the rest of their working day.
To create the Think Space, Gilian researched the effect that targeting the five senses has on the brain and designed each aspect of the Think Space to stimulate each one individually, meaning that the mind is awakened after a journey and therefore more focused . Gilian's ambition was to create the waking equivalent of a power nap, whereby the user is energised in a short period of time.
The Think Space is a private oasis for one person and free of all external distractions, allowing the user to focus fully. The space itself is an air-filled oval shape, suspended from a steel frame, which the business traveller ‘unzips' to enter.
Once inside, each sense is targeted as follows:
- Touch: the room contains a comfy chair for the business traveller to sit back and relax on. Whilst reclining they will be able to play with a tactile ball next to the chair. The user will be encouraged to use alternate hands so the movement stimulates both sides of the brain
- Sight: the Think Space itself has a vibrant red colour, chosen for its proven energising effect. The user will be encased by this warm, yet invigorating colour
- Smell: the space will be infused with a peppermint scent, as research has shown that the smell of peppermint increases concentration on tasks by stimulating the brain. In research this was proved to be more effective than caffeine.
- Sound: noise minimising headphones are suspended from the ceiling in the Think Space, allowing the user to listen to a carefully selected soundtrack from iMusic. This music has been specifically engineered to stimulate the neurons of the brain which in turn get the blood pumping and the mind moving faster.
During his career, Gilian has designed the interiors of hotels, bars and restaurants across the world, including the Hotel de L'Europe in Amsterdam and the Supperclub restaurants across Europe.
Crowne Plaza hotels in Brussels, Hamburg and London will each have a Think Space installed in their hotel lobby from 21st November. These Think Spaces will remain in the hotel until early 2009.
Gilian Schrofer is the third ‘Crowne Plaza innovator' to be revealed as part of this year's Crowne Plaza Think Tank campaign, which has seen the hotel brand sign up a number of creative business leaders. Each innovator works with the hotel brand to create a different product or service which directly benefits business travellers staying at Crowne Plaza hotels across the region.
Speaking of his involvement with the brand, Gilian Schrofer said: "Business travellers have traditionally had to juggle a demanding position with added external pressures, such as long working days and jetlag. With the Think Space, I wanted to design a unique sensory experience for Crowne Plaza hotel guests which also offers a real lift to the business traveller; in effect the waking equivalent of the power-nap. By targeting each of the senses, the Think Space aims to stimulate the user for whatever lies ahead in their business day, regardless of any other factors which may make demands on their energy levels."
The dedicated Think Tank microsite www.crowneplazathinktank.com will feature further information on Gilian Schrofer and the innovator campaign.
* statistic from research undertaken by University of Reading
**research taken from William Dember and Joel Warm of the University of Cincinnati
***for more information on iMusic, please visit www.vth.biz
Notes to Editors:
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms. IHG owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, over 4,100 hotels and more than 600,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognised and respected hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®, and also manages the world’s largest hotel loyalty programme, Priority Club® Rewards with 40 million members worldwide.
IHG has more than 1,700 hotels in its development pipeline, which will create 200,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years.
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.
IHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at www.ihg.com and information for the Priority Club Rewards programme at www.priorityclub.com. For the latest news from IHG, visit our online Press Office at www.ihg.com/media