The 7 Hotel Television System Features Guests Ask for the Most
Hotel Technology is every changing and the in-room features that guests ask for are evolving daily.
A recent survey by USA Today indicated that the #1 thing that hotel guests asked for in-room was Free Wi-Fi. Our question to our hotel customers was what do your guests ask you to provide them in terms of Hotel TV?
What are your guests asking for from your Hotel TV?
- Free-to-Guest (FTG) Hotel Television – Pay-per-view is dead
- High definition, flat screen TVs like they have at home.
- High definition TV programming with large channel options
- Interactive service and information on the Hotel TV.
- Entertainment & information options beyond just TV programming.
- DVRs – the ability to record and pause live TV
- A Germ-free Remote Control
Free To Guest Hotel TV
Guests have many options in terms of watching video content from laptops and tablets to their smartphone and iPods and they are are simply not willing to spend money on pay TV in hotels like they did in years past. They expect the hotel to provide them with a great selection of channels from news (Fox, CNN,etc…) to sports (ESPN) to movies (HBO. Showtime) and do it for Free.
High Definition Flat-screen TVs
Over 70% of all homes have High Definition TVs. Arriving in your hotel room and seeing an old CRT TV with a fuzzy picture is a complete turn off.
Guests want to have the same television experience they have at home and that means a HD flat screen TV in their hotel rooms.
High Definition TV Programming
Many hotels, even upscale properties, are installing flat screen, HD TVs but are still only providing their guests with the old standard definition programming.
Why? Because the cost of replacing their standard definition head end system and sky high costs for HD programming from their cable TV provider.
Recently I have checked into luxury brand hotels in 4 different states and was greeted in my room by a beautiful HD TV. Then I picked up the LodgeNet or Cable remote and what I found was a fuzzy picture and standard definition programming. Standard definition channels definitely look worse on a HD TV than on an standard definition TV.
Interactive Services
Instead of having to pick up the telephone, your guests are asking for in-room messaging with hotel staff, billing & check out information, ads & specials for local restaurants and businesses (pizza is #1), concierge services, valet, maps, local attractions, etc…
Being able to access information on your hotel and the community on the hotel TV is an amenity that most guests have said they both desire and enjoy.
Entertainment and Social Options Beyond Hotel TV Programming
Guests carry many different electronic devices today. More than 90% carry at least one of the following: Laptops, Smartphones, Tablets like an iPad or Galaxy Note, media players such as an iPod or DVD player, and gaming systems. Business travelers staying at your property may carry 4 or more of those devices! Your guests are asking for the ability to view the content from the devices they bring on their travels, on your Hotel TV.
Hotel guests are also often requesting the ability to access their own subscription services like Hulu, Netflix and Pandora to provide video and music programming of their choosing through the Hotel TV.
Social media sites such as Faceboook, Twitter and LinkedIn are a big part of everyday life for your guests and are the most requested apps for your hotel TV.
Ability to Pause Live TV & Record Shows & Movies
More and more hotel guests are asking to be able to have the DVR functionality they have at home in their hotel room.
They want to be able to pause live TV so they can make a call or take a shower, to record a show so they can watch it when they return to the hotel at night or on their own time frame.
A Germ Free Remote Control
According to USA Today, remote controls in hotel rooms can be one of the filthiest items in a hotel room. Hotel guests are asking for options when it comes to the remote control.
Personal remotes, anti-microbial finishes, smartphone apps, etc… that can ensure they have a clean remote.
Provide your guests with what they want most from your Hotel TV System
When it comes time to upgrade your hotel television system to provide your guests with the Hotel TV experience they are asking for, Its All About Satellites has 16 years of expertise in providing systems to fit the needs of all types of hotel properties.
