Executive Insight Q&A: Elevating the Guest Journey

Our research suggests that hotel operators are making significant investment in guest room technology. What opportunities do you see for the guest journey in that space?

Customer engagement is changing rapidly. Guests are navigating through their own content, and we need to seek opportunities for them to engage with our content in a meaningful way. More than ever, hoteliers need to consider consuming personal data, like when guests log into an app on the HTV or they cast their content directly to the technology. This content relationship is taking on a whole new life, with many necessary considerations for hotel operators.  
 

Mobility has become more important than ever, both for guests and brands. How can mobile devices such as tablets provide a solution? 

Consumption of personal data is a big factor here. With the “BYO” concept (guests bringing their own devices), there’s a lot of content moving from a personal small screen to the hotel’s large screen. We are seeing many in-room controls and order entry or POS being controlled with Hospitality TVs, tablet, or even voice. Luxury hotels and higher-end, resort-style properties have adopted tablet sooner than others.  

Can you speak to the benefits of a cloud-based solution from your brand’s point of view?

The benefits of cloud are significant to hoteliers. Many of our customers seek more sustainable ways to remove hardware from the network environment, and cloud-based solutions enable this. As hotel brands try to redefine and activate their brand story in many hotel locations across the US, they need a centralized way to do this. Digital transformation and cloud allows hoteliers to bring a consistent brand message to multiple properties across the US, without the manual headaches of the past. 

What are the barriers to executing on the guest story in today’s environment?

The biggest pain point we continue to hear about digital transformation in the hospitality market is inconsistency in the guest experience. As a guest moves through your property, you should have a consistent brand message from the EV Charging stations outside, to guest check in, to signage and messaging outside the elevators, all the way into the guest room. Right now, for many hotels, there is a gap in this journey. Samsung knows cloud is here to stay, and we’ve helped hoteliers digitally transform in a meaningful way, to ultimately elevate the guest experience.