Announcing the Winners of Skift Design Awards 2019

During the opening night of Skift Global Forum 2019, we announced on Tuesday the winners of the inaugural Skift Design Awards, the travel industry's recognition of the spaces, services, and initiatives transforming the traveler experience. After months of deliberation, our panel of world-renowned designers and creative business leaders poured through hundreds of entries to choose the best-in-class brands and designers defining the future of travel across 15 categories. Please check out the video above announcing the winners, and for more information, read below. Skift Design Awards Winners Best AR/VR Experience: Melbourne Convention Bureau - Virtual Site Visit MCB created the Melbourne Virtual Site Visit (MVSV) to help international associations and professional conference organizers (PCOs) to select Melbourne as their preferred meeting destination, strengthening the business case and destination appeal. The MVSV delivers an immersive 360-degree first-person experience to international decision makers that can be viewed anywhere at any time, increasing their understanding of Melbourne and imrpoving conversion without a physical site inspection. Clients can virtually meet prospective partners as they introduce venues, hotels, and attractions in Melbourne. Users direct their own immersive pathway through the virtual journey to learn the unique benefits of Melbourne as a destination. Honorable Mentions: Moxy Chelsea - A.S.M.R. Experience Renacen - 3D SeatMapVR Best Aviation Experience: Oman Air - First Class Passenger Experience Oman Air invested in an all new first class passenger experience to elevate the prestige of its brand as a flag carrier. The design team scrutinized every aspect of long-haul flight, with specific focus on the details of a temporary life in the sky. The team enacted passengers’ patterns of movement, anticipated pain points, inevitable questions, and lived out every possible scenario with a careful eye on ergonomics and human factors. Bespoke monuments, lighting design, 24k gold leaf finishes, and subtle layering of patterns and luxe materials come together to create an impression that is entirely new and unmistakably Oman Air. Honorable Mentions: Delta Air Lines - Atlanta Terminal F United - Entertainment for All Best Business Traveler Experience: NH Hotel Group - Fastpass Since 2018, NH’s Experience Department, in collaboration with the operations and IT teams, has developed a series of technological