On March at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, we debuted our short film showcasing the top 10 outstanding independent accommodations worldwide and promoting our Dream Trip competition. This kicked off the eviivo Collective 2.0 World Tour, which ran from March 16 – 24 — beginning at SXSW, the world-renowned film, media and music festival and finishing in London on Independent Accommodation Day. Independent Accommodation Day — launched in 2023 — celebrates the millions of independent and privately owned accommodation providers across the globe.
Encompassing eight iconic cities around the world, and such landmarks as Montmartre (Paris) and St. Paul’s Cathedral (London), our World Tour aimed to give our customers the spotlight they deserve. We also extended our social media competition to the public, offering them a chance to win an all-expenses-paid dream trip to one of the ten winners of our top independent accommodations competition.
The eight stops of our tour were:
Austin (SXSW Festival) — March 16
Belfast (St. Patrick’s Day) — March 17
Canterbury/Margate — March 19
Brussels — March 20
Amsterdam — March 21
Dusseldorf — March 22
Paris — March 23
London — March 24
Below, we provide some insight on what it was like to be on the road with the eviivo team for the eviivo Collective 2.0 World Tour.
Austin, Texas – March 16
Tens of thousands of people were able to see the premier of our short film at the renowned SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.
We were thrilled to be the only hospitality tech company to be at an official event of this scale amd hundreds of people were delighted to enter our contest.
Belfast – March 17
After a successful premier at SXSW in Austin, Texas, our UK team – comprised of Finn McKenzie and Paul Saxby – took over and flew to Belfast for St. Patrick’s Day.
We were greeted by eviivo digital manager – and, importantly, Irish local – Reece Groves at the airport, who helped us navigate the chaos of St. Patrick’s Day.
St. Patrick’s Day is a global phenomenon, so it was a great choice to do our first projection activation in such a lively city, where we received hundreds of entries to our contest, as well as amazing engagement with our short film.
We activated in iconic hotspots in Belfast, such as The Garrick, Bittles Bar and The National, where crowds of people saw our short film which was shot onto buildings via our small yet powerful handheld projector. Irish locals enjoyed their Guinness over spirited debates between which properties they wanted to stay at for the Dream Trip competition.
The team took it in turns operating the projector and handing out flyers to eager contest entrants, working well into the night of St. Patrick’s Day as Belfast appeared to get livelier the later it got!
Thankfully, we had the perfect accommodation to retire to at the end of the activation, as Moxie Luxury Apartments, a gorgeous eviivo customer property in the heart of Belfast, opened its doors to us.
Margate – March 19
With two great stops under our belt, we began the core journey of the World Tour with DRIVEABOUT projection in Margate on March 19.
Reece unfortunately did not join us for the rest of the tour, but our team gained some new members as we were joined by Kenny Hawksworth ( strategic influencer) and George Hudson (videographer). We were also joined by Shaun and Josh, the owners and operators of the DRIVEABOUT vehicle.
Our first projection location of the trip was Margate Musuem, a prime location near the best fish and chip shop in Margate!
We predicted a quiet Tuesday, but we had a constant flow of eager contestants and inquisitive eyes on our short film.
We had the pleasure of meeting some wonderful and talented artists in Margate, and the rich culture of the town meant that a lot of people who saw our film were thrilled to see such an activation in the already artsy Margate.
Once again, like Belfast, we had the reassurance at the end of the long day that we were staying in an eviivo customer property, The Hussar, who welcomed us with warm hospitality and comfy beds!
Brussels – March 20
The team enjoyed an early start on March 20 as they packed up from The Hussar and began their journey to Brussels via the Euro Tunnel, a new experience for all.
Once we arrived in Brussels, the team took a moment to refuel with some local cuisine – moules frites! A necessary stop after a long day of traveling before the activation ahead.
In Brussels, we opted for two separate locations: the Corto Maltese wall mural by the canal, followed by Pl. Saint-Gery, the heart of Brussels nightlife and entertainment.
The Corto Maltese wall mural is an iconic piece of artwork in Brussels, so we knew that we had to take some time to get great pictures of the eviivo Collective short film there.
Once we had taken some amazing pictures and videos at the mural, we drove into the heart of Brussels to Pl. Saint-Gery, where hundreds of locals were enjoying their Wednesday night with drinks and music.
We projected our short film onto a building in the middle of the square so that everyone could see. We then handed out flyers to as many people we could and encouraged them – with a small amount of broken French! – to enter our competition, which was, again, met with excitement and debate over which property was the best.
We met some amazing members of the public in Brussels, including a very helpful juggler who assisted in handing out flyers! The atmosphere was electric and it was one of the most successful stops of the tour.
Amsterdam – March 21
With our European trip well underway at this point, the team set off to Amsterdam on March 21.
We had chosen to base ourselves in NDSM Wharf, a cultural hotspot of Amsterdam that has gained a lot of popularity in recent years, which meant our short film got a lot of engagement and attention from locals and tourists.
We did our first activation in NDSM wharf, where cultural and arts events often run, so it was a fitting location for us to show our short film.
Once NDSM Wharf had quietened down, we relocated into Amsterdam Central, a location where locals and tourists were enjoying food, music and drinks for the evening.
We set up on an iconic tower in Amsterdam Square and began our activation, engaging with passers by and explaining our Dream Trip competition.
Amsterdam was another successful activation, and the team enjoyed a bit of tourism at the end of the night exploring the beautiful canals. We also said goodbye to Paul, who left the tour at this point and returned to the UK.
Dusseldorf – March 22
We were particularly excited to arrive in Dusseldorf as it was the first location where we were joined by more of the eviivo team: Markus Becker, Leonie Clever and Maxim Gubin.
Markus met us at Hotel Fährhaus, a breathtaking hotel on the river Rhine and an eviivo customer. We met with the owner, Michael, and took some time to learn about his business and discuss eviivo Suite.
We then made our way into Dusseldorf center to the Prada store, the first stop of our activation for the night.
Located in the heart of Dusseldorf’s bustling shopping district, the Prada store was the ideal location for us to spread the word about eviivo Collective 2.0. We were grateful to have the German team with us for translation purposes and our team was now able to speak the local language – a luxury we didn’t have in Brussels or Amsterdam!
After a period of flyering outside of the Prada store, the shopping center died down, so we made our way to the heart of Dusseldorf nightlife, a pub street where locals and tourists were enjoying their Friday night – what better place for them to try their luck at winning a Dream Trip!
We set up outside O’Reilly’s Irish Pub, one of Dusseldorf’s most popular locations. It was fantastic to have the German team with us as they helped navigate some of the interactions with the locals we met!
Paris – March 23
For the penultimate stop of the tour, we arrived in Paris on Saturday, March 23.
We stayed in the center of Paris, checking into our hotel and making sure to sample some French cuisine before the evening’s activation!
Our activation for Paris was going to be at the Sacre-Coeur, Montmartre, one of the most iconic buildings in Europe.
We arrived in Montmartre to torrential downpour, an issue we’d encountered in Germany too, but it didn’t stop us! We had the wonderful French team with us, including Wanda Tholon, Zineb Khdim, Guillaume Sniady and Jean-Pierre. Once again, it made our efforts more successful with locals who spoke the language!
Despite the rain, Montmartre was a hub for tourists and the public were delighted to enter our contest and watch our short film. Looking out over the city of Paris, the view was spectacular and we were thrilled to have the eviivo logo up in lights at such a famous location.
A big thank you to the French team for their hard work during difficult weather conditions!
London – March 24
After a hugely successful week across 7 iconic cities and hotspots in Europe and US, we were thrilled to celebrate the finale of our World Tour on Independent Accommodation Day in London, March 24.
Having completed over twenty hours of driving, the team was ready to take on the final activation of the tour. We based ourselves in Shoreditch near the High Street Station, a cultural hub in London and a fitting location to celebrate Independent Accommodation Day.
We were lucky to have more of the eviivo team join us as we set up projection on the iconic Shoreditch Station bridge. Crowds of people from nearby bars and train stations were thrilled to watch our short film and enjoyed entering our competition.
Our final location of the tour was a particularly special one: St. Paul’s Cathedral. We finished the World Tour with the eviivo logo up in lights on one of the most famous buildings in the world, and we are thrilled to be the only hospitality tech company to have done this.
The eviivo Collective World Tour was a resounding success. It was incredible to meet so many fantastic people across Europe who engaged with our film and signed up for our Dream Trip competition.
