The World of Hospitality Issue 14 2016 | Page 36

36 the World Of Hospitality Mantaray UK Mantaray Opens Lindale Showroom The last 30 years has seen a technological revolution and the birth of the digital world. The hospitality industry has benefited greatly from this revolution, from the advent of electronic booking systems, and the integration of streamlined back office systems to the availability of almost instant and anonymous feedback through social media platforms and review groups, those at the forefront of the hospitality sector have embraced the revolution and harnessed its potential. These benefits, however, do come at a cost. In a world where every business has access to marketing experts and online optimisation and where the customer base is becoming more discerning by the day it becomes increasing difficult for business to stand out from the crowd. The other risk of the technological revolution is that of technology fatigue, whilst it is generally accepted technology needs to be incorporated into our daily lives from the design stage up, the risk of customer alienation is very real, we all have different tastes and needs after all, the balance has to right. Telephone: 0800 177 7490 Mantaray Installations, based in Cumbria, has set out with this balance in mind. Creating stunning handcrafted furniture for the hospitality sector which integrates the latest technologies whilst remembering that these developments should enhance not impose. Newfoundland Lodges revolutionised the outdoor hospitality sector when they released ‘The Pod’ back in 2004. The pod, now a worldwide success story spawned a whole new category dubbed Glamping and demand shows no sign of slowing a decade later. Mr Ian Bone, director of Mantaray, is an avid music lover and appreciator of high-fidelity audio says Mantarays first product, the canopy bed came about as a result of personal desire “I wanted something with classical elegance but also a modern design edge” and a sound and lighting system for the same room that was “real and uncompromising, and would envelop the listener in a rich, luxurious field of sound”. “After looking around, I realised there was not only nothing on the market even close to what I wanted, but also no sound and lighting solution t hat would work well with the vision I had” and so design work began on how to best combine the two. The light system installed in the Canopy Bed, which connects to any Bluetooth enabled device through the latest apt-x technology, listens to the user’s music in real time and not only faithfully reproduces the sound in great detail but also accompanies it with an appropriate lighting display to enhance the sensory experience, the lighting can range from the subtlest of soothing colours to a vivid and deep display, all carefully controlled by the on-board intelligent processing engine. Mr Bone, has form when it comes to ground-breaking redesign and altering the status quo. His other venture WEBSITE: www.mantaray-uk.com The control of the system is simplicity itself and of course, and it can be switched off leaving the music in splendid isolation or simply disconnect altogether and enjoy the bed for what it is, a stunning piece of modern design brought to life by master craftsmen. EMAIL: [email protected]