Today’s travelers expect more than just a comfortable room —they want the same personalized entertainment experience they enjoy at home.
The webinar, “Future of Hotel TV: New Standards in Streaming, Casting & Personalization,” hosted by HOTELS Magazine, explored how casting and streaming offerings are transforming in-room entertainment standards, helping deliver a frictionless guest experience while lowering operational costs.
Here are the main themes discussed in the webinar, plus you can watch highlights of the webinar below.
1. The relationship between owners, operators and brands
Hotel TV is no longer just an amenity— it’s a digital touchpoint, said Rohan Jani, associate vice president of technology at Hyatt Hotels Corp. It impacts the guest satisfaction, brand perception and, ultimately, the ancillary revenue. The alignment of these core pillars depends on three key stakeholders: hotel owners, who make the investment in TV infrastructure; operators, who manage and maintain the technology; and the brands, who define how the guest experience looks like.
On the TV manufacturing side, Richard Leonarz, director of hospitality product management at Samsung, said suppliers like Samsung focus on how to build and design the right product depending on the stakeholders’ wants and needs.
2. The brain behind the product
Kara Heermans, SVP product management and user experience at SONIFI, a technology provider working for the hotel industry, working hand-in-hand with Samsung, highlighted the role of companies like SONIFI as a quiet but powerful ally in powering the infrastructure of the TVs, and subsequently, brands’ desired guest experience. “If you look at the combinations of TV models, firmware and software and all of those things, it can get very complex. So, we want to be here behind the scenes to work with partners like Samsung to deliver a great experience for partners like Hyatt, so that the hotel brands can focus on what really matters: the guest. We’re just here to deliver that reliability,” she said.
3. The evolution of streaming and casting content
Going beyond TV channels, Hyatt is leveraging TV customization tools to curate content for its guests, such as promoting its portfolio of brands through reels to guests who are familiar with the group or inviting guests who are not yet members to join its loyalty program, commented Jani. To add to this, SONIFI offers tools like name display or setting up guests’ preferred language before arrival.
As AI continues to take over the world, the future of in-room entertainment seeks to capitalize on creating a myriad of personalized experiences, as well as relying on automation to solve issues like latency when changing channels, not having smooth casting operations or even TVs turning on in the middle of the night. Moreover, leveraging cloud-based systems and the CMS with AI assistance allows properties to provide the most relevant and updated content through streaming services.
4. Revenue generation vs. cost
As the infrastructure keeps getting bigger, the cost of technology across hotels is only going up, which is why curating the offerings based on segments and guest profiles is key to reducing costs, commented Jani. To add a revenue-regenerating quality to in-room entertainment, brands can make significant improvements depending on the segment, such as promoting the specific amenities and services of each property through the TVs, said Leonarz.
Another way to take advantage of ancillary revenue is by offering simple transactions that can be done through the television, such as the option to pay for a late check-out. Advertising is potentially another great tool, but it must be implemented “in a non-intrusive and relevant way for each guest to maintain the elevated experience that brands are seeking to provide,” added Heermans.
To-Go Thoughts
The top priorities for owners when choosing an entertainment provider are cost reductions, content variety, and 24/7 support, as well as on-the-ground support. For brands, the main concern is meeting owners’ brand requirements and having a future-proof guarantee that equipments are durable. To meet them in the middle, Leonarz says finding the balance between the features a property wants to offer, depending on its needs and the support the manufacturer can provide is crucial.
At the end, bringing the same feeling of familiarity and comfort you get when using your TV at home to the hotel room is one of the main goals of all the in-room entertainment players. A high amount of engagement through personalization and seamless interface and user experience will help define a hotel’s outstanding guest experience and revenue opportunities in the near future.