How Can Hotels Offer the In-Room Entertainment that Guests Want?
Guests have different expectations from their in-room entertainment than they did in the past. The pandemic kept the whole world in-doors and as a result people sought entertainment online, online streaming grew massively with video streaming services reaching 1.1 billion worldwide. According to research commissioned by Forbes Home, content streaming will continue to increase. The report found that Americans spend an average of 13 hours and 11 minutes per day using digital media, 78% of American households subscribe to at least one or more streaming services. With the majority of Americans subscribing to some type of streaming provider, they have the expectation of accessing the same type of content when they travel. In order for hotels to gain a competitive edge, they must enable guests to use their personal devices to manage their in-room entertainment.
How Important is Video Streaming to Guests?
Content streaming has become a way of life for everyone, during travel and while at home. Streaming is rapidly eclipsing cable TV, according to a survey conducted by Hotel Internet Services, 62% of hoteliers believe that the ability to stream content was more important than providing access to cable TV. But with the popularity of video streaming, the large majority of hotels, 86% primarily offer cable or satellite TV. According to Forbes Home, 73% of U.S. households are subscribed to Netflix and providers such as Amazon and Disney + have large numbers of subscriptions as well. It only makes sense that hotels would enable guests to access their streaming subscriptions from their personal devices.
Smart TVs are in Demand
According to Hotel Internet Services, guests want a high-tech in-room experience and wanted to use the hotel TV not only for entertainment but also to interact with hotel staff. Guests increasingly expect entertainment options beyond traditional cable TV. By integrating smart TVs into guest rooms, hotels can offer access to popular streaming services. In addition to allowing guests to access popular subscription services and accessing a host of entertainment options, smart TVs also allow guests to access in-room dining, housekeeping services, guest billing and other hotel services. Smart TVs also have the ability to allow guests to check-out directly from the hotel TV.
According to the survey, guests wanted to use the hotel Tv for the following:
63% – ability to check-out of hotel.
62% – wanted access to wireless casting.
59% – log into apps from TV (Netflix, etc.)
58% – ability to manually erase data from the hotel Tv.
57% – view bill and purchases on hotel TV.
55% – order amenities such as in-room dining.
34% – communicate with hotel staff.
The Most Important Amenity is Hotel Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi has the ability to make or break the guest experience. Reliable Wi-Fi helps hotels to perform more efficiently and allows employees to better handle guest requests. A powerful Wi-Fi network is essential in implementing mobile and other hotel technology that are in high demand. These systems are dependent on a reliable hotel network with sufficient bandwidth.
Hotel Internet Services 2022 Guest Wi-Fi Expectations Study found that travelers require greater bandwidth to accommodate their devices. As more travelers are arriving at hotels with multiple devices with the expectation of connecting them to the hotel’s network, hotels need to be able to meet the demand.
Mobile streaming has surpassed TV growth, the percentage of Americans with access to TVs dropped from 76% to 56% in 2021. Mobile technology is in high demand, therefore reliable Wi-Fi is essential in order to provide guests with the entertainment options that they want. The biggest issues affecting guests were slow internet speeds, dropped connections and spotty Wi-Fi coverage. 42% of guests had complaints about slow internet speeds, 42% had the most issues with dropped connections and 23% experienced spotty Wi-Fi coverage during their hotel stays.
In order for hotels to provide uninterrupted services to guests, the Wi-Fi infrastructure must be in place to accommodate the increasing demand for bandwidth and instant connectivity. Hotel Wi-Fi service is only as good as the hotel internet service provider that supports it. An experienced provider will ensure that your hotel has sufficient bandwidth, is scalable, reliable, secure and can keep up with the advances in hotel technology.
Data Security is Essential
Travelers will be traveling with their personal devices with the expectation of logging into their personal accounts and accessing their streaming subscriptions. Travelers also want the ability to access their billing information and make payments directly from the hotel TV, but the security of their data is a major concern. Security is more of a concern now than it was in the past, in 2020 62% of consumers had data security concerns, compared to 2022, where 82% were concerned about protecting their personal information during their hotel stays. Guests want to enter their information with the confidence that their data is secure, otherwise they will be reluctant to use the hotel’s technology. An experienced provider can ensure that the appropriate security controls are in place to authenticate users and monitor the hotel’s network for potential threats.