Many hospitality operators view audio-visual equipment as a capital expense that once installed should be fit and forget. Buy some screens, run some cables, install some speakers and amplifiers, and your AV is sorted for the next decade. The thing is, the venues that continue to thrive over the long-term see AV as part of an ongoing investment in retention. The competition for people’s precious leisure time and disposable income has never been greater, and it’s naïve to think either will be handed to you without any effort.

Eliminate Conversational Strain With Intelligent Audio Zoning

One of the quickest ways to drive customers away is to make them struggle to hear each other. When background music seeps haphazardly through your entire establishment, guests sitting in the less noisy section feel as if they’re in the front row of a concert or straining to eavesdrop on the bar. Neither will have them coming back for more.

Zone-distributed audio takes care of this. Instead of one source, one volume, and one mix blanket-spread over your entire venue, zoned systems give you the freedom to play any number of audio mixes at any number of volumes through any number of speakers, all at the same time. Your bar stays lively. Your floor stays intimate. It feels to both groups like the place was designed with them in mind. Because it was.

Adding acoustic treatment into the mix is just smart. Those high ceilings and gorgeous brick walls that add so much character to your space also lead to ugly reflections, uncomfortable Reverberation Times, impossible-to-control weird spots of too much or too little background noise, and an all but impossible task of dialing in that perfect audio mix. Fix the space first, the sound second, and you’ll enjoy better complements on your acoustics than your cocktails.

Standardize the Experience Without Burning Out Your Staff

Being inconsistent is basically the same as being unreliable. A place that is just as you want it on a busy night but too bright, too loud, and just a mess on a slow afternoon doesn’t seem like a bad second experience: it seems like a bad bet.

This is where central control systems shine, by separating the technical decisions from the management of the venue. With a well-designed control interface, an iPad, or a dedicated touch display, any staff member can switch the location from lunch mode to open for business with a simple pre-set, and the room audio, the playlist, and the zoned lighting can adjust to go from open and inviting to dark and moody, and the AV performance required.

This is where the implementation phase is worth its weight in gold. If the lighting app is separate from the audio control, which is separate from the content playing on the screen driven by a laptop, you’re going to be fighting an uphill battle, since frustrated staff will simply avoid the more than five minutes of futzing required for even the simplest pre-set. Partnering with an experienced hospitality AV integrator like Crunchy Tech is how you get a system that staff will actually use without a troubleshooting call every week.

Turn Game Days Into a Reason to Leave the House

Well, home screens have gotten bigger, much bigger. Even a modest screen can put on a pretty good hometown spread. Unlike a screen in a bar, home-screens never switch games at half-time, go fuzzy on a rainy day or buffer at the most critical goal.

To compete with the couch you need what the living room can’t offer. Scale. Energy. The communal buzz of thousands of punters waiting unholy silence for a referee’s VAR decision. This is what we are talking about. And this is what video walls can deliver.

When they walked in, they saw a game. If you want them to think nothing of walking out at half-time, then you probably should too. A big screen doesn’t just grab people’s attention, it keeps it.

Use Digital Signage to Influence the Decision That’s Already Being Made

When a customer is still at your establishment, they’re still a potential sale. Is another drink imminent? Would you like to see a menu for dessert? This customer seems to love trivia; would you like a flier for next week’s event?

Your digital signage and your POS are in direct communication and that changes everything. If you’re overstocked on a wine, you can push it by glass for the night instead of letting it collect dust in the cooler. If you have an awesome event coming up, the flier slideshow can be pushing the event to guests whom you already know are fans of your establishment. They’re relaxed, they’re happy, and their friends are all around them telling them how clever they were to have picked this place, and this is the slide that’s highlighting that there’s a TICKETED TASTING next Thursday.

Design the Space to Earn Revenue it Isn’t Currently Capturing

A venue that solely works as a dinner service is turning away potential business. However, the same room equipped with flexible AV can also accommodate a corporate lunch, a private afternoon event, and a live acoustic set by night.

When you have microphone inputs that are ready to use, audio settings that don’t interfere with other parts of a room thanks to partitions, and displays that can easily switch between various sources, you’re not making major changes to the setup for each new booking. The room makes those changes itself. This means you can field and secure event inquiries you’d otherwise have to pass on, and the room can be generating revenue through bookings over more hours of operation with minimal costs rising.

Repeat customers don’t come from one brilliant experience, they come from knowing that this week, next month, and three months from now, you have a space that is exactly what they need, when they need it.