It’s tough enough being a catering manager without having to deal with technology issues. Last minute client requests, changes and questions can make any event enough of challenge without stopping everything to adjust the audio or lighting, or to deal with a fault in the system.

But at the Daytona, a Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel, technology is not an issue. With the help of the Bodhi building operation platform, virtually all of the adjustments and tweaks can be made in advance—and it constantly checks the health of every component to avoid any problems.

“We designed Bodhi with hotel managers in mind,” explains Will Gilbert, partner at Software Development LLC.

“First, it makes it easy for managers and authorized staff to create and save their own lighting scenes, audio levels and other presets, then update or tweak them for a particular event. While our clients can always make adjustments on the fly, we know it’s far easier to fine-tune the settings during the planning stage.

“Just as important, it flags potential problems before they can disrupt a meeting or event. It’s a comprehensive system that simplifies technology management and makes every day go more smoothly.”

With a terrace and guest rooms offering views of the Daytona International Speedway, the Daytona offers an extraordinary experience for anyone who likes cars or motor sports.

Its racing-themed amenities include a second floor lobby with vintage race cars on display, and racing exhibits in its Sir Malcolm restaurant, Blue Flame bar, and conference center.

The property features 12,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event spaces, plus a huge outdoor LED display near the front entrance, all of which are managed by Bodhi.

Bodhi uses a simple, browser-based interface to allow the catering or IT manager to choose settings and scenes for the entire property, but also to delegate specific setups to the those most involved in particular phases of an event. Managers and staff with the appropriate logins can access Bodhi with their office computers, iPads or their own smartphones.

If, for example, a client is holding a banquet and presentation in the property’s Echelon meeting rooms, a manager can set up the sound and video systems in advance, then schedule everything to be turned on and ready when the client arrives.

That scheduled program can include routing audio and video to the combined Echelon rooms, the prefunction area and the terrace outside, plus lighting levels, volume levels, and even a welcome message for the outdoor LED display.

Because Bodhi is constantly monitoring all of these systems, managers and guests can be confident that they will work perfectly during an event. Electronic components, for example, will start to draw more power before they malfunction, and Bodhi will catch that and send a notification to the IT department. That way, they can repair or replace the component before it can fail during an event.

Bodhi also monitors and controls the background music, lighting, digital signage, and climate systems in the lobby, elevators, restaurant and bar, and allows managers to set up and adjust all of them to suit the day, the time and the events taking place.

Bodhi is a cloud-based management application accessed by any device with a web browser, with all communications protected by 256-bit encryption. Because it uses role-based authentication, the hotel director or IT manager can retain overall control but easily delegate specific systems, say the lighting, video and music in the Blue Flame bar, to the appropriate managers and staff.

The first thing users see on opening Bodhi is a Dashboard with the various systems under their control. A high-level view would start with buttons for each floor of the hotel plus combined scenes for the ballroom, prefunction areas and outdoors. (Lower-level managers see only the systems under their specific control.)

Click on any one of these buttons and Bodhi takes you into the controls relevant to that area. The Level 200 button, for example, brings up audio system control for the various areas of lobby, the conference center, restaurant, elevators, restrooms, and terrace. Click on one of these to choose a music source, change its volume level and view any alarms. There’s also a button that links to any open trouble tickets, and another to an energy report which charts power usage for the area and period you choose.

One of the most powerful screens is the Scheduler, a calendar application that allows managers with the proper authorization to click on any day and time they choose, then change or create scenes, groups, presets, or settings for individual devices using any of the technology under Bodhi’s control. Its pop-up Job Panels use the same logic as the buttons of the Dashboard, but with the ability to set start and end times and choose whether to repeat or not.

In use since the Daytona’s opening in June, 2019, Bodhi has drawn rave reviews from management, who say it greatly simplifies their use of the technology on the property.

The hotel has drawn rave reviews from guests as well, earning 9.4 out of 10 points on Bookings.com, 9.8 on Hotels.com, 4.9 out of 5 on Marriott.com and Expedia, and 5 out of 5 stars on TripAdvisor.

“Wow!” wrote one guest on TripAdvisor. “I can’t believe this hotel is in Daytona Beach.” “Probably the best hotel in Daytona,” wrote another. A third wrote, “The Daytona Autograph is among the Top 5 hotels in Florida!! Fantastic accommodations, staff and location.”