Thinking about hospitality TVs, there’s probably a good chance that the onus is going to be on guests to use their own mobile devices to cast to in-room devices, and that hotels are going to keep reducing their overhead. Eventually, hotels will probably turn into hotspots with beds. They’re already places where you are taught to use a wet towel to save the planet.
This all came about because PPDS, the exclusive global provider of Philips professional displays, had an interesting announcement about an installation of 200 TVs at a luxury vacation residence called Beach Haus Bal Harbour in Miami. The Chromecast built-in Philips MediaSuite 4K TVs are installed in every room and bedroom of the all-suite facility. Guests connect their devices to the hotel WiFi and stream from Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, etc directly.
Switching to Philips’ TVs has eliminated the need for multiple monthly subscriptions previously required to offer a similar range of channels and services, resulting in significant cost savings for Beach Haus, according to the release. The new setup provides secure remote management of guest data, software updates, and troubleshooting via PPDS’ Philips CMND platform. The efficiencies are valued here at more than $10,000 a year, as well as over 730 hours saved annually on manual data deletion and account resetting for staff. Not much data on how much it saves guests who have to interact with guests about their TVs not working or the charges for pay per view (PPV) not being right.
Choosing a Hospitality TV
In the market, there are three primary TV suppliers, at least here in the US: Samsung, LG, and Philips. Comcast Business TV, Spectrum Enterprise, and Cox Business are options for hotels seeking TV services, with varying channel lineups, reliability, and pricing. Evolve by DISH offers live TV and streaming apps in guest rooms, featuring Android-based hardware, Chromecast, and compatibility with 4K TVs. Limited-service hotels and other establishments may opt for streaming devices like Google Chromecast, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV to provide affordable, guest-centric entertainment. Additionally, HBO and Netflix have partnered with major hotel brands and entertainment platforms to offer their services in guest rooms, allowing guests to sign in or use the service without logging in.
When evaluating hospitality TV systems, hotels usually pay attention to the customizability of the system. A good system should allow hotels to control access to specific features, tailor menus, add personalized welcome messages, and manage content with ease. It is essential that the new hospitality TV system is compatible with the hotel’s current infrastructure, including any existing software and hardware components. For example, streaming entertainment demands significant bandwidth on WiFi networks, and even hard-wired systems require robust infrastructure. A lot of hotels opt for a cloud-based solution over an on-premise one and, as you may have experienced on your own travels, performance and availability of networks is inconsistent. It tends to be great where there are a lot of business users, particularly in large markets, but everywhere else is a crapshoot. That’s also true of sound quality, which can make or break a guest experience, but you can have a great flat panel display and a lousy audio system.
The evolution of the hospitality industry has led to guests expecting effortless connections between their devices and in-room entertainment systems, enabling them to access their preferred movies, TV shows, and other content. Although the technology requirements may not be overtly noticeable, establishing seamless device connectivity solutions can be intricate, especially in the global context. Every country in the world has a hotel, and all those countries have different standards. You can then add multiple platforms for guests, too, Android and iOS being the two key ones, challenging cross-compatible solutions.
