Sarner, a leading international creative design and AV installation company, has created a unique piece of wearable technology for the new, ‘regenerated’ Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff.
The Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff reopened to the public in October. Sarner, who designed, created and installed the original attraction, also updated the experience for the new Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi (right).
BBC Worldwide was keen for visitors to be more fully involved in the new adventure by giving them a wearable piece of technology. Sarner created a visitor pass embedded with a ‘Time Crystal’, based on the Doctor Who episode ‘Rise of the Cyberman’, which allows them entrance to the sacred Museum of Gallifrey. It gradually becomes clear that the Time Crystal has a special connection to the TARDIS and visitors are eventually able to use it to help save the Doctor in the exciting finale.
This ground breaking piece of wearable technology combines the latest in infrared, LED and vibration. The Time Crystals are fully DMX controllable - as visitors progress through the Experience, the Time Crystal flashes and glows through a sequence of colours. Bespoke infrared control units trigger the Time Crystals at specific times and places inside the Experience.
Sarner’s Projects Director, Ed Cookson, explains, “The wearable technology had to make sense as part of the story whilst adding to the visitor’s experience, but it became apparent to us that there was nothing on the market readily available so we had to invent our own.
“There are LED reactive wristbands and other similar technology currently being used but because this whole new Experience was about creating a totally immersive new storyline, we didn’t want to shoe-horn a product that didn't make sense as part of the narrative. The pendant was designed from the ground up as a creative solution, to make sense as part of our story. In addition, we wanted to add features like vibration to create a more multi-sensory experience, rather than just a visual one and you can’t buy those off the peg!”
SSA Group has been working on a transformative approach to operations. By weaving its signature 452 Hospitality ethos, rooted in a legacy of welcome and human connection, into Scout, a new AI-driven operating system, the company demonstrates how AI can enhance rather than replace the human side of hospitality.
For nearly 60 years, SSA Group has been a staple in the cultural attractions sector, collaborating with zoos, aquariums, and museums to provide comprehensive guest services. As a family-owned business, the company has continually adapted, but its core mission remains centred on a simple, powerful concept: hospitality.
We speak with CEO Sean McNicholas and vice president of people and culture, Jason Stover, to unpack Scout's mission and learn how it can open the door to both greater efficiency and more memorable moments.
SSA reimagines the industry
Starting by looking at the bigger picture, McNicholas says: “What I love about SSA and our family business is our curiosity for continuing to reimagine the industry.
"Those are pillars of our plan. We approach 60 years as a family business in 2030, and what’s exciting to us is continuing to innovate, not just our business, but the guest experience for our clients and partners.”
Sean McNicholas and Jason Stover
This culture of curiosity is what prompted McNicholas and Stover to investigate the potential of artificial intelligence long before it became the industry buzzword it is today.
"Five or six years ago, Jason came to me as one of the early adopters of AI. We started talking about it, and the more we looked at tools like AI, we asked a very simple question: what one, two, or three areas could AI positively impact our business?"
For SSA, the goal was not to replace staff or remove the human element from the museum or zoo experience through automation. Instead, the emphasis was on liberation.
"The thing that became clear was how tools like AI could help us become more efficient with data, back-end systems, and administrative work," adds McNicholas.
"If we can be more efficient there, we can spend more time meeting guests where they need us, which is on the front line.”
The outcome of this exploration is Scout, an AI-assisted tool and ‘unified intelligence layer’ designed specifically for cultural attractions.
Scout is positioned not as a replacement for human workers, but as a co-pilot. It is an operating system that gathers data from across the industry to provide real-time insights. Unlike general-purpose AI tools, Scout has been built for the sector's operational realities.
"AI is trending now, but it’s not new," says Stover.
"I’ve been with SSA for almost 30 years, and my journey with AI in this company has existed since day one. When I first became a manager, we were already experimenting with predictive analytics, trying to forecast attendance and staffing.
"That was AI at the time."
However, the leap to generative AI offered a new opportunity to support SSA's secret sauce: its people.
Stover employs a cinematic analogy to describe Scout’s role within the workforce:
"I compare it to Tony Stark," he says. "He’s brilliant, but he doesn’t become Iron Man until he has Jarvis. That’s what Scout is. It’s a co-pilot that takes away routine, monotonous work so our people can focus on what matters."
Real-time, useful insights
Designed to support guest-journey walkthroughs, the platform collects real-time observations and converts them into actionable insights tailored to each attraction.
The tool was created in accordance with SSA’s core belief that technology should never replace connection; it should enhance it. The idea is that data and design can collaborate to create memorable guest experiences.
This supports SSA’s wider focus on innovation, which aims to turn curiosity into meaningful change that advances partners' missions. By automating data analysis, Scout helps operators make more informed decisions about designs, platforms, and revenue strategies.
"Guest expectations are evolving faster than ever," says Stover. "Scout was built to meet this moment as a tech-forward AI tool that allows us to keep experiences deeply personal.”
The heart of the system: 452 Hospitality
Although the technology is impressive, the engine driving Scout remains entirely human. At the centre of Scout’s design is 452 Hospitality, the cultural ethos that defines SSA Group’s purpose and character.
Named after 452 Leyden Street, the Denver home where SSA’s founders first lived and practised hospitality, 452 has since become both a numeric and philosophical code for what the company stands for: a spirit of welcome, belonging, and genuine human connection.
At 452 Leyden Street, anyone could come in for a meal, a chat, or a place to rest. And that sense of genuine warmth now lives on in every SSA service encounter.
Today, 452 Hospitality reflects SSA’s ongoing dedication to creating authentic, memorable moments that uplift guests, partners, and colleagues alike.
That same spirit guides Scout’s purpose: rather than replacing people, the AI system aims to enable staff to embody 452 Hospitality more fully, freeing them from administrative burdens so they can provide the personal engagement that makes guests feel welcome and valued.
In practice, this involves a particular method for engaging with guests and monitoring operations. Scout develops a digital framework for this using the SOQ model: Observation, Opinion, and Question.
"Scout is being trained by the entire zoo, aquarium, and cultural attraction industry," Stover says. "Every conversation, every audit, every partner insight gets ingested and shapes how Scout operates.”
Within the Scout ecosystem, there are various ‘agents’ dedicated to different tasks, such as labour optimisation and inventory management. However, the ‘452 agent’ is unique.
"It has vision and voice capabilities. As you walk through operations, it analyses images and observations in real time and evaluates them against our hospitality standards. It acts as a co-pilot for auditors and operators, making observations, offering insights, and matching them with best practices and solutions.
“You might miss something as a human, but Scout won’t.”
Scout in action
The deployment of Scout is already producing tangible outcomes, progressing from theoretical ideas to solving complex on-site issues. This highlights SSA’s focus on turning insights into action by combining data, technology, and human connection.
McNicholas emphasises that the team is "continually evolving Scout by testing it across multiple attractions," noting that "every new site adds more data and sharper insights.”
Stover offers an example of Scout’s operational intelligence in action from a working session with the Detroit Zoo. The team was exploring a complex “what-if” scenario: opening a new entrance near a new exhibit while navigating compliance considerations, budget constraints, and a nearby rail track.
“Using Scout as a sandbox alongside their team, we pressure-tested the constraints, surfaced relevant regulatory considerations, explored alternative approaches like repurposed shipping containers, and generated rough-order cost ranges. It was less about committing to a final plan and more about accelerating discovery.”
“What’s exciting is that every audit surfaces a new real-world question, and we ask: Should this become a new sub-agent? That’s how Scout keeps evolving.”
Another success story comes from the Dallas Zoo, where Scout was instrumental in helping the zoo team explore their own AI journey while SSA conducted an inter-department relationship audit.
Scout is tailored to each user’s psychology
What makes Scout different from typical business AI tools is its incorporation of behavioural psychology. Acknowledging that strong operations don't happen by accident, SSA has combined leadership development with its technological roadmap.
Stover, whose background is in people and culture, insisted that if they were to create co-pilots, they had to understand the humans who would use them. So, instead of providing generic recommendations, Scout adapts its guidance to each leader's thinking and communication style.
"One of the first things we decided was that if we were going to build AI co-pilots, they needed to integrate Behavioural Essentials," Stover says. "We already use behavioural assessments that give leaders a 21-point profile, with strengths, tendencies, and blind spots. We’ve now incorporated that into Scout.”
This means that when a manager logs into Scout, the system is tailored to their specific personality profile.
"It understands how I communicate, where I might need softer language, or where I might need more structure," Stover says.
He adds that McNicholas served as the ‘guinea pig’ for this feature:
"We merged his traits and blind spots into Scout as he was working through our future roadmap. Scout isn’t just an AI tool; it understands your psychological makeup and helps cover your blind spots as you operate in your role.”
The future of the workforce
A common concern about AI is the risk of job displacement. However, SSA’s leadership firmly states that their investment in technology aims to safeguard, not eliminate, their workforce.
"As CEO, culture is my responsibility, and culture starts with values," McNicholas says. "Hospitality, human-to-human interaction, has always been our foundation. I don’t want a world of all robots and automation. I love people too much.
“That’s why Scout exists. It helps us live what we love to do: creating special moments for people.”
Stover shares this view, considering AI as a safeguard against the decline of interpersonal skills observed in other industries:
"We have to be proactive in shaping the future. Many companies will use AI purely to impact the bottom line. That’s their choice. But SSA has always been people-focused. We’re adopting AI safely and intentionally to better our people. As interpersonal skills decline elsewhere, we’re protecting them by freeing people up to reconnect.”
The efficiency gains are clear. Stover notes that tasks like scheduling, which previously took hours to analyse against weather and sales history, now happen in seconds. "That frees managers up to spend time with their team. That’s the point.
“We’re hospitality people. We want to be in front of guests, not behind a screen.”
A vision for 2030
Looking ahead, SSA has set bold goals for the next five years. As the company approaches its 60th anniversary in 2030, the vision is for a fully enabled workforce where each employee has a digital partner.
"By 2030, every person in our company will have a co-pilot that helps them be more efficient," predicts McNicholas. "We’ll also bring a unified revenue strategy to attractions, something the industry lacks.”
He also believes the metrics of success are shifting. It is no longer enough to simply count heads at the gate:
"The future metrics won’t just be attendance. They’ll be revenue, guest experience, and fulfilment," he says.
"There’s more competition than ever, and we have to be the place where guests leave thinking, 'That felt right.' To do that, our people need tools like Scout so they can spend more time creating those moments.
“That’s how we reimagine the industry.”
The future of hospitality
Summing up the benefits, COO Travis Kight says:
"AI is the future of hospitality, but not in the way most imagine. We see AI as a co-pilot, not a replacement, designed to protect the human connection that defines our industry.
“Tools like Scout allow us to turn data into real-time insights, freeing our teams from repetitive tasks so they can focus on creating unforgettable guest experiences.
"As Sean mentioned, by 2030, our vision is for every team member to have a digital partner that amplifies their strengths, covers blind spots, and helps us deliver hospitality at a level the industry has never seen.
“AI isn’t about automation. It’s about empowerment.”
As SSA Group looks towards the attractions of tomorrow, its message is clear: the path to the future is built on data, but the goal remains human connection.
By anchoring Scout in 452 Hospitality's philosophy of creating meaningful, human-centred moments, SSA isn’t just adopting AI for efficiency. It’s enhancing its ability to deliver heartfelt experiences that define its brand and shape the future of the guest experience.
"That’s the foundation of Scout," Stover says. "If a tool doesn’t protect hospitality or make us better people-facing operators, it doesn’t get built.”
This opening marks the exhibition's North American debut and the beginning of its tour of the US and Canada.
The globally acclaimed exhibition has engaged hundreds of thousands of guests across Europe and now brings an insightful perspective on the Cold War to a new region.
Democracy, division & freedom
Visitors to The Berlin Wall: A World Divided can see more than 200 original artefacts, including authentic fragments of the Berlin Wall, alongside personal testimonies from Berliners. The exhibition tells stories of separated families, choices made, and the resilience of those confronting ideological barriers.
Luis Ferreiro,CEO of Musealia, says: "History is often remembered through dates and figures, but what truly resonates are the human stories at its core.
"The power of an exhibition lies not only in presenting history, but in making it human. When visitors engage with an authentic story—through an artifact, testimony, or personal document—they reflect, empathize, and connect across time and culture. That is where real impact happens."
Beyond the typical East versus West narrative, The Berlin Wall: A World Divided explores how daily life was affected by competing societal models, from authoritarian control to liberal democracy, and the human cost when pluralism disappeared.
Visitors are encouraged to consider the fragility of democracy, the enduring nature of authoritarian impulses, and how civic action can influence history.
Union Station Kansas City offers a compelling setting for the North American debut. Formerly a major rail hub, the iconic landmark is now one of the leading cultural institutions in the Midwest, bringing together history, education, and public engagement.
At the presentation ceremony on 18 February, George Guastello, president and CEO of Union Station, said: "Union Station is committed to presenting exhibitions that educate and inspire.
"We are proud to serve as the starting point for this important North American tour."
The event was also attended by Ferreiro, Rolf Snyder, honorary German consul; Mark P. Adams, director of the Harry S.Truman Library and Museum; and Timothy Riley, Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout, director and chief curator, America’s National Churchill Museum.
Their presence highlighted the exhibition’s significance and the shared dedication to education and historical reflection.
For more than 25 years, Musealia has made history resonate by connecting visitors to personal stories. The Berlin Wall: A World Divided enhances understanding of the human side of this ideological conflict, illustrating how political decisions shape real lives and how collective action can help reshape history.
At a time when discussions about democracy, division, and freedom are at the forefront of global conversations, this exhibition encourages visitors to explore history and engage with the human stories behind it, fostering reflection on the significance of human rights, liberty, and civic duty.
Earlier this year, Musealia marked the 81st anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz as the Seeing Auschwitz exhibition opened at the Archivio di Stato di Torino (Sale espositive, Piazzetta Molino 1) in Turin.
The Dalí Museum in Florida has announced plans for a 35,000-square-foot, $65 million expansion, with construction due to start this autumn.
Expected to open in 2028, the new addition to the Dalí Museum will boast flexible gallery environments for experiential exhibitions that blend art and technology, a dedicated learning centre, and community spaces for events and programming.
Since opening in St. Petersburg in 1982, the Dalí Museum has welcomed more than 10 million visitors. Following the debut of its landmark building in 2011, it has generated more than $1 billion in economic impact for the area.
Combined with the museum’s existing galleries, theatre, dome and Avant-garden, the expansion will create a dynamic campus.
Hank Hine, executive director of the Dalí Museum, said the project is "a defining moment for our institution and for St. Petersburg".
"We are creating a museum that will stand with the great cultural institutions of the world, prepared to meet the expectations of today’s visitors and the curiosity of those who will walk through these doors decades from now," he said.
Hine added: "It’s not about being bigger; it’s about being bolder. For more than four decades, the Dalí has led through innovation, empowering visitors to see differently and think expansively.
"This next chapter allows us to move beyond existing limitations and create space, intellectually and physically, for deeper learning, more ambitious experiences and broader access."
The expansion will be designed and built by the Beck Group, which constructed the 2011 building.
The project has received early support from Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, the official tourism marketing organisation for Pinellas County, Florida.
"The Dalí Museum is a cultural engine for this community and a cornerstone of St. Petersburg’s global identity," said Brian Lowack, president and CEO of Visit St. Pete-Clearwater.
"Investments like this strengthen the identity that defines our region and attracts visitors from around the world."
A 3D model of the proposed expansion will go on view at the Dalí from 2 May, as part of a special exhibition exploring the museum's architectural evolution and future vision.
The Dalí Museum will remain open throughout construction.
Gateway Ticketing Systems, a leading provider of admission control systems, has announced that Eric Fluet took on the role of vice president of marketing on 23 February, and that Chad Wallace became its new director of sales on 2 March.
Fluet has over 30 years of experience in the amusement and attractions sector, including senior marketing positions at Six Flags and Madame Tussauds.
Throughout his career, he has driven initiatives to increase attendance, develop brand strategy, and boost revenue performance across destination-focused entertainment organisations.
In 2017, Fluet established Get It Done Marketing, a strategic consulting company focused on the larger amusement sector, including amusement parks, water parks, family entertainment centres, hotels, campgrounds, and industry suppliers.
He collaborated with over 50 organisations to craft both short- and long-term marketing plans, enhance team effectiveness, and execute disciplined, data-driven marketing initiatives to achieve measurable growth.
Fluet is recognised for blending strategic planning with practical implementation. His experience at both corporate and property levels provides him with a clear understanding of the operational and competitive challenges faced by destination attractions.
As VP of marketing, Fluet will oversee Gateway’s global marketing efforts, including brand development, communications, and demand generation, as the company expands its presence in the attractions technology industry.
Meanwhile, Wallace brings more than 30 years of sales experience in the attractions sector, including positions at Nutmeg and, most recently, at Digonex.
He has collaborated with attractions in North America and globally to develop ticketing, pricing, and guest engagement strategies, emphasising practical, revenue-oriented approaches that boost attendance, improve yield, and elevate the visitor experience.
As director of sales, Wallace will lead Gateway's sales initiatives, focusing on enhancing customer relationships, increasing market presence, and delivering measurable value to attractions worldwide.
“Eric and Chad bring complementary strengths that will help us better serve attractions around the world and continue delivering long-term value to our clients,” says Michael Andre, president and CEO of Gateway Ticketing Systems.
“Eric understands the pressures our customers face because he’s lived them, and Chad has a rare ability to connect strategy to real operational results. Beyond their experience, they share our commitment to partnership and long-term success.
"I’m genuinely excited to welcome them to the Gateway leadership team and confident they will make an immediate impact for our customers around the world.”
For years, most conversations about AI in the experience economy focused on efficiency. Why go through a lengthy research process on Google or TripAdvisor when I can get quick, personalized recommendations from a chatbot that understands me and my interests?
But recent filings from Marriott and Hilton highlighted that AI is on the precipice of a major change. AI is moving beyond just helping people discover what to do next to helping them complete the transaction itself.
And if that shift speeds up, it will be a seismic change for both marketing and distribution.
If AI is no longer simply a planning tool but a potential intermediary, it could create a new layer between brands and their customers.
For museums, theme parks, zoos and aquariums, immersive exhibitions and IP-driven experiences, the question is clear: What happens if AI becomes the primary interface for discovering and booking physical experiences?
If that comes to fruition, it will determine not only what gets shown to experience-goers, but what gets booked and what gets overlooked.
AI is shifting from discovery to transaction
In the current AI landscape, users go to an AI tool and can ask a broad question (“I’m going on a trip to Chicago in April. What should I do?”). That’s agentic discovery, and it’s how people are currently using AI.
But soon, people may say, “I’m going to Chicago for a trip in April. Book the highest-rated experience that I’d like.” The transaction may happen right there within the chat interface, and a user may never land on an attraction’s website at all.
A change like that could restructure the entire purpose of a website. As Syracuse professor and AI expert Shelly Palmer wrote last year, “agentic AI will transform your websites from destinations into API endpoints, and user journeys into autonomous workflows.”
Put simply, AI agents are on the cusp of pulling data directly from websites’ backends and executing transactions without needing user guidance.
TILT at 360 CHICAGO
Today, websites are places users go to glean more information, but soon, their primary function may be to serve as structured data sources for AI systems.
For experience brands built on immersion and emotional storytelling, being reduced to just a couple of summary lines in an AI chatbot would have huge implications.
Whose customer is it anyway: if AI controls the transaction, it may control the relationship
Right now, hotels are asking: “What if AI becomes the next Expedia?”
Experience brands may need to ask an even broader question: “What if AI doesn’t just become the next Ticketmaster, but is even above Ticketmaster? A place where discovery and purchase happen in one step.”
That would raise important questions:
Who owns the customer relationship?
Does first-party data still flow into your CRM? If not, how does retargeting work properly?
What will commission or fee structures look like? Will they resemble OTA-style fees?
What happens to brand loyalty? How do brands hold onto it if transactions happen elsewhere?
If many (or most!) customers are transacting in an AI interface, they may never forge any connection with a brand.
On top of that, for ticketed attractions, in particular, organizations need to be mindful of scarcity, resale markets and fraud. As agentic commerce evolves, the industry will need to identify what constitutes “legitimate” automation to ensure fairness is maintained.
If you thought bots scalping for the hottest tickets were a challenge before, it may be about to get even trickier.
Visibility in an AI commerce world will be earned through signal strength
AI systems will prioritize signal strength, not brand legacy or captivating storytelling.
But these signals will not just be built on strong API backends on websites. Systems will learn from review volume, online ratings, search behavior, social sentiment, and discussion.
Conversations on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit and beyond will continue to shape what gets surfaced.
But that will intensify a familiar dynamic: visibility begets visibility.
Blockbusters and highly discussed experiences will generate more digital signals, which, in turn, will increase the likelihood of being surfaced. In a world where AI is not just driving discovery but transactions, visibility is even more important.
Smaller institutions or productions with less chatter risk becoming even harder to find than they are now, regardless of the quality of the on-site experience and storytelling.
We are already seeing K-shaped outcomes across live entertainment and attractions. Agentic commerce could further amplify that trend.
This shift is structural, and the standards are being set now
The shift will not happen overnight, but the foundations are being laid right now.
The governance of agentic booking, payments, authentication, and fraud prevention is currently being shaped by major technology and payment players such as Google, OpenAI, Visa, and Mastercard.
Once the model solidifies, its economics and data flows will become difficult to renegotiate.
As the hotel leaders are showing, organizations that engage early have a greater opportunity to shape this process before we get to that inflection point.
While not all attractions or organizations will have an open line of communication to these platforms, now would be the time for these smaller institutions to align together to ensure their interests are represented.
The institutions that shape AI’s role will shape their own future
In a world that’s becoming increasingly algorithmic and synthetic, live experiences will become even more important. AI will not replace the emotional impact of a live show or a world-class exhibit.
But AI may influence which experiences get surfaced first or never presented at all.
Being ahead of this curve by asking these questions early, optimizing web design and aligning with like-minded organizations can help ensure your institution is shaping the role of agentic commerce rather than reacting to it.
TILT at 360 CHICAGO 