How In-Room TVs Can Drive the Guest Experience
Can you speak to the relationship between hotel technology and guest loyalty?
Technology is a foundational driver of guest loyalty. It’s increasingly less noticeable when executed well than it is apparent in its absence. Hotels are in a unique position in which they need to provide technology experiences comparable to what guests have at home, but also utilize technologies that specifically apply to the on-property experience. While COVID unexpectedly escalated the deployment of a variety of contactless check-in technologies, guests have also spent more time in their rooms and spent more time engaging with the in-room entertainment solutions. Technologies improving these experiences will significantly impact satisfaction and subsequent loyalty of guests.
What types of hotel technology ought to be on operator’s to-do lists in terms of roadmaps and implementations for 2021?
The first priority for hotels has been, and should be, safety. Guests have to feel safe checking into a property but once checked in they are spending more time in their rooms and, consequently, more time looking for entertainment. The in-room TV provides the best viewing experience but much of their entertainment content is on their personal devices. Integrating guest content on to the in-room TV is more than improving entertainment, it is a unique opportunity to drive engagement. Technologies delivering this kind of experience continue to be more intuitive and affordable making them available to a wider variety of properties.
The guestroom experience is evolving more rapidly than ever. Can you speak to opportunities to meet guest expectations and build relationships via in-room entertainment?
Today, the television is the most used technology in the room, it’s universally recognizable and turning it on is a reflex for many travelers. Guests expect 40-60 HD channels but increasingly they want more, they want an integrated experience allowing them to easily watch their favorite OTT service on the in-room TV. The evolving need for integrated entertainment is a preview of the connected future. Advances in 5G and Wi-Fi technologies will seamlessly power the personalization of tomorrow’s guest experience. Smart technologies let guests personalize their stay but the real game changer is the system intelligence that will mean they don’t have to.
Would you like to share relevant data about the relationship between technology implementations and revenue? Is it safe to say that, for hotels, technology is no longer just a department but a revenue generator?
Technology implementations are inherently driven by a revenue goal, whether it is decreasing costs or enhancing the guest experience, the goal is to improve profitability. We know that TV and in-room entertainment is a key part of the guest experience. In fact, Enseo recently completed a case study of television viewing in 2020 which showed a 49.3% increase in viewing hours of traditional TV and OTT services*. Increased engagement with in-room entertainment means that the properties delivering a better than expected solution have an advantage over those that aren’t adapting to guests needs. That drives loyalty and revenue.
*Enseo 2020, Hotel Television in the Age of COVID-19
