海底捞视频聚餐叫好不叫座
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佛莱明餐厅的营销经理泰瑞·霍伦说，过去五年中，这套系统的使用率显著增长。在不同的城市，这套系统的使用率从每天到每周几次不等。试图节省旅行开销的医生和制药公司特别喜欢这种方式，但偶尔也有私人消费，比如用Skype向亲朋好友们直播婚礼现场。而佛莱明餐厅本身也会时不时地联合旗下十几家分店搞大型视频聚餐活动或是利用该系统进行内部培训。 明星大厨和餐厅老板托马斯·凯勒也在自己的餐厅内安装了宝利通的视频会议系统，这倒并不是为了餐厅的食客所准备的，而是为了他能够24小时不间断地管理旗下各家餐厅。 弗雷斯特研究公司（Forrester）分析师布莱恩·王称，业界对于这类餐厅远程视频系统仍持观望态度。他说：“我不认为这类服务会在餐饮行业内成为主流，因为它不合任何商业逻辑。”以海底捞为例，据中国媒体报导，这家餐厅在这两个视频聚餐套间上的投入高达400多万元人民币（约合65万美元），王说他非常怀疑海底捞是否能通过收取房间费来收回这笔投入。除去安装和维护的成本，王也注意到中国的宽带成本也相当高昂。 但同时他也承认，这对海底捞和华为公司来说不啻为一个成功的营销手段。华为在3月份时推出了“下一代”全景视频通讯系统，而来自政府机构的需求也在快速增长。尽管华为公司的视频会议系统销往全球45个国家，但王却说，其中大部分的销售业绩增长来自中国，财力雄厚的地方政府和机构越来越多地认识到视频会议和远程通讯系统的实用性。他补充说，华为公司还通过将视频会议设备与电信基础设施合同相捆绑的方式来实现其在发展中国家的销售。王预计，华为设备的价格比竞争对手要低30%至50%（去年华为视频会议系统在全球范围内售出超过13万套，而远程通讯设备售出了2,100套）。 远程通讯设备在远程教育、银行和医疗保健方面的应用也是整个行业增长的动力之所在。 反观中国，自去年2月份发布以来，海底捞的视频聚餐所带来的热潮似乎在渐渐冷却。海底捞发言人称，这套系统并不是每天都投入使用，特别是在工作日期间。而在全国更大范围内推广这个视频聚餐套间的计划也处于搁置状态。 无论中国的视频聚餐浪潮是否会重蹈美国之覆辙，华为公司都不太可能担负起重振美国视频聚餐之风的重任。去年10月，美国国会的一个委员会发布报告称华为公司是美国的“国家安全威胁”，并警告美国留意该公司在美国的间谍活动。而多年来在美国市场上饱受此类指责的华为公司坚决否认了上述指控。 译者：唐昕昕 |
Terri Horan, Marketing Manager for Fleming's, says usage of the systems has grown tremendously over the past five years. Though it varies by city, most of the suites are used everyday to a couple times per week. They're especially popular with doctors and pharmaceutical companies who are looking to save travel costs, but the telesuites have also been used for the occasional personal function, like broadcasting a wedding to family members on Skype. Fleming's also occasionally hosts large teledining events that involve dozens of their restaurants or uses its technology for internal trainings. Celebrity chef and restauranteur Thomas Keller also uses video conferencing (Polycom) in his restaurants and bistros, not for the sake of his diners but so he can manage his various kitchens around the clock. Bryan Wang, an analyst with Forrester (FORR) expects these cases of restaurant telepresence to remain exceptions in the industry. "I don't see this scaling up or out in the hospitality business. It just doesn't make any business sense," he says. In the case of Hai Di Lao, which was reported in the Chinese press to have spent more than 4 million yuan (about $650,000) on the two suites, Wang is skeptical the franchise could ever make up the cost of the system with what it's charging customers. Aside from the costs of installation and maintenance, Wang notes that bandwidth in China is extremely expensive. At the same time he acknowledges it's a useful marketing ploy for both Hai Di Lao and Huawei, which previewed its 'next-generation' full view telepresence system in March and has seen fast-growing demand for products from the government sector. While Huawei has sold its videoconferencing technology to 45 countries around the world, Wang says much of this growth will come in China where deep-pocketed provincial and local agencies are recognizing the utility of videoconferencing and telepresence systems. He adds that Huawei has also capitalized on networking contracts it has with governments in developing countries, by bundling video conferencing equipment in deals for basic infrastructure. Wang estimates Huawei's prices are 30-50% lower than its competitors. (Global bookings for Huawei's videoconferencing products last year exceeded 130,000, for telepresence units 2100.) Applications for telepresence in remote education, banking and health are also sources of growth industry-wide. Back in China, the enthusiasm for Hai Di Lao's remote dining appears to have cooled since its February launch. A spokesperson for the company said the systems are not used everyday, particularly during the week. Plans for rolling out remote dining rooms in other branches across the country also have been put on hold. Whether or not teledining in China goes the way of teledining in America, it's unlikely Huawei will be the company that revives a remote dining movement in the States. In October, a Congressional Committee issued a report calling Huawei a "national security threat" and warning of its potential to spy on Americans. Huawei, which has faced such allegations for years in the States, fiercely denies the charges. |
