This Restaurant Chain Starts Training Employees Using VR | Find Out Why!

This Restaurant Chain Starts Training Employees Using VR | Find Out Why!

A standard practice in the foodservice industry is to have new hires sit through a training session and Honeygrow, a fast-food chain that specializes in stir-fry and salads follows the same procedure with their recruits. Cleaning up messes, stocking the fridge, and preparing menu items are topics discussed in the training. With that said, applicants don’t necessarily need to don aprons or follow someone’s footsteps to know the ropes. They don’t also need to sit through a safety video or focus their attention on a thick handbook. They use VR.

Applicants are given a Honeygrow location tour made possible through a virtual reality headset which allows them to have a 360-degree view of the surroundings while hearing from founder and CEO Justin Rosenberg about company values. The same immersive and engaging training experience is provided across Honeygrow’s 17 (and counting) locations.

Many of the new recruits have already been exposed to some of the VR training features during their interviews and are ready for training. Honeygrow collaborated with Philadelphia-based Klip Collective to use this experience as a recruitment tool with their virtual tours.

image credit: arlnow

Recruits will be able to immerse themselves in a game in which they virtually stock an animated walk-in refrigerator as they watch real-life employees in action with Honeygrow’s VR training. The game is fully realized with ambiance and music that plays corresponding animal sounds which users input through remote control with falling confetti to reward players for completing the game.

It should be noted that Honeygrow is not the sole retail company that has integrated VR to employee onboarding. Walmart, for example, has shown interest in incorporating the technology into its 200 training academies in early June of 2017 from which more than 140,000 associates graduate annually by the end of the said year. Walmart worked hand in hand with Strivr, a VR research and development startup that was formed out of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab. According to its Website, Strivr utilizes VR to improve the overall performance of athletes, brands, and organizations. A 30 percent increase in the ability to recall topics is what NFL quarterbacks who trained with Strivr have experienced, which is quite impressive.

Even though Walmart does not usually release data with regard to the result of its VR training pilot program, a company spokesperson has disclosed information that they have received significant results enough for them to expand the program. The company was able to notice a huge improvement in both the retention of the material as well as engagement with the content.

In early May, Honeygrow began rolling their VR training out for testing. The company has been keeping track of what percentage of its managers were certified on several categories within its training program even before adding VR. As a result, Honeygrew received an increase of team members who were certified of culture from 50 to 77 percent just within 30 days of implementing VR technology.

You may also start training your employees through virtual tours. Virtual Tour Easy is a virtual tour creator that can help you create interactive virtual tours in just a few seconds. Try creating one today!

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Best Uses of Virtual Reality in the Hospitality Industry

Best Uses of Virtual Reality in the Hospitality Industry

Many operators in the hospitality industry take the virtual reality that seriously. They all found out the benefits and applications of the tool to be far-reaching. Today the hospitality industry is looking past the novelty value of VR and AR or augmented reality. They are thoroughly trying to weigh all the benefits of immersive technology towards the owners, customers, and all the employees.

IHG

There are several uses of VR in various hotels. At IHG, the VR solution is used primarily for the design development process. It helps them save time and money and enhances their relationships with the hotel owners. The group used to have physical pilot rooms for testing design schemes. It cost the company €100,000. Now with the use of virtual reality, they were able to come up with virtual concept hotel. This enables to look around the hotel and its design regardless of their position and even when they are under the bed.

They produced one single 3D model that makes use of a virtualization system which is called Unreal Engine. This means that a single design change can update all the other related design production assets such as images, 360 virtual tours, and VR. The greatest benefit that IHG gained from the program is engagement with all the current and prospective owners. It has also helped in validating the results of current and future guest research wherein VR is a primary instrument which reduced the requirement for expensive physical piloting programs.

Hilton

Hilton, on the other hand, has a different VR approach. It makes use of creating immersive environments for the corporate staff to understand fully what everyday life is for all the employees. Through the use of the Oculus Rift goggles which are linked with a laptop for high-end gaming. Customers can go around the hotel and its different departments and at the same time users are also asked to join in three operational tasks: creating a room service tray, cleaning a guest room, and checking the rewards program list found at the front desk. The result of the pilot program is positive with 87 percent of the participants saying that they now appreciate and have better empathy for team members who work in the hotel and 78 percent of them anticipating that this will have an effect on the work they do within the office. The program is set to be applied globally.

Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza

Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza is the real example of a customer-facing VR where dinner is served at €1,500 per head and guests are offered multisensory 14-course extravaganza. This includes a simulation of what a party would be like in 2050. Certain technologies are used. One is e-spoon which offers a 3D animation of a snack giving the diners more nutritional information about the food they are eating. Another technology is the leap motion technology which enables the guests to lift the snack using virtual hands and tasting it in a completely virtual environment. There are also guest-facing VR that can be found nationwide. This enables guests to see the arrival in real-time in different areas of the hotel.

Tree By Naked

In Japan, food connoisseurs can now dine at the Tree By Naked, a virtual reality restaurant. Here you can find a fusion of multiple Japanese dishes from Ryotaro Muramatsu, the creator of Naked Inc. Experience dining in a building with a facade filled with elaborate projection displays and adorned with many 3D elements.

With all the options for technology, the first question that a hotelier has to ask is if it has to be a VR. You have to think if you are solving a problem or you are in fact creating a problem that does not exist. It is also important to consider first and foremost the quality of output. It’s not enough that you are first to use a particular technology. It doesn’t matter anymore these days. It is also crucial to consider the budget since you are not only spending for the virtual reality product but also for the equipment needed for the guests, employees, and owners to experience the virtual product.

Hotel owners and managers and key players in the hospitality industry can create their own virtual tour with ease and minimal cost through the software Virtual Tour Easy. The software has many free features, and it’s user-friendly. Check the site for more information.

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Japan Offers A Virtual Reality Restaurant Serving Real Food

Japan Offers A Virtual Reality Restaurant Serving Real Food

It won’t be surprising for you to hear that when the term virtual reality restaurant is mentioned, it evokes the image of a highly immersive dining experience. Japan is the first place you would think of having this. This is because Japan has always been ahead in terms of technology from gadgets, robots, to futuristic research. If you want to dine with a mixed Cirque De Soleil, Michelin, Avatar, and Marvel inspirations, Tokyo is the best place to go.

Tree by Naked

The restaurant is called Tree by Naked. The restaurant is located the Yoyogi Park in Tokyo. A fusion of Japanese cuisine is offered in the restaurant. These dishes are from Ryotaro Muramatsu, the creator of Naked Inc. Naked Inc. is a company whose specialization is on sophisticated visual installations, experiences, and designs around the globe.

This is like having a famous building with crazy projection displays on its façade adorned with 3D elements. The restaurant still features clothed people despite being named as such. As part of showcasing its expertise in transformational experiences, the company launched Tree by Naked which is exceptionally a cut above the rest.

Dining at the Tree by Naked

Dining at the virtual restaurant will challenge and stimulate all your senses: smell, sound, touch, taste, and vision. These are brought about by the sounds, objects, and visuals that are presented. 3D projections go with the plate presentations creating stories and intrigues which make each one a conversation piece. It could mean that a plant is growing on your plate while you are dining. Projections are also highly interactive that they respond to actual customer behavior in real time. Making the whole experience theatre-like, smoke, lighting, and 360 degree sound effects vary according to themes in every dining room.

Specific Details to Expect

There are eight courses served during the dining experience. A drink comes with every course. It costs 23,000 yen inclusive of tax and service charge. It is necessary to make a reservation and it has to be done in pairs of 2,4, 6, or 8 individuals. Don’t waste the chance by turning up late for the dining schedule. Take time to get fully immersed in artistic display. The installations won’t do anything to ruin your outfit for the occasion.

For a once in a lifetime dining experience with your loved ones, try the Tree By Naked restaurant. For a start, try the virtual tour restaurant today.

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