Hospitality TVs have long been classified as outdated. Truly, most often the TVs in commercial properties do not align exactly with the technology that the majority of the guests owned at home. Hardware was expensive and the quick upgrades in the market made the existing system outdated.
However, nowadays, affordability has become easier due to constant software updates. It is a long-time investment for any business owner because of its many benefits like branding, communication, and content streaming. Therefore, you should pay attention to some points before choosing hospitality TVs.
Why Do You Need Hospitality TV?
The best TV displays suitable for your commercial property should have:
- Customizability: You can gain access to specific features and add personalized welcome messages. You can adapt the TV to the evolving needs of your business.
- Interoperability: Unless you plan to decommission your existing system (or build it for a new facility), you need to ensure that your system is compatible with your current infrastructure.
- Infrastructure: Streaming entertainment requires much bandwidth on WiFi networks. And even delivering content through hardwired systems requires infrastructure. Whether you primarily offer a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) experience or a hybrid experience with in-room entertainment options, you need confidence that your system will deliver an uninterrupted service even when rooms are sold out.
- Connectivity: It should be easy for guests to cast content from their devices to their TV. Carefully consider the steps your guest must take to use BYOD.
- Sound: Even the best displays get ruined by bad audio. Make sure your speakers are powerful enough to give you a great audio experience.
Guests’ Expectation
There are three main “wants” of guests from a hospitality TV, such as:
- Flexibility: Give your guests the flexibility to browse live TV, select on-demand content, stream content from entertainment apps, or use their own devices to cast content to the in-room TV.
- Control: Personalization becomes easier and more precise in giving your guests control to curate their experience. Ideally, this technology would work seamlessly across devices and channels, providing a single contact point between guests, hotels, and their technology.
- Simplicity: Guests want their technology to work properly. Hotel operations rarely run this smoothly. Still, you need to provide a simple, no-frills entertainment solution that anyone can understand within minutes. Easy-to-use technology is good!
Hardware and Software
A final consideration is whether the hardware and software are at least somewhat future-proof. The hardware should be good enough for five years, and the software should provide frequent updates in line with the latest entertainment trends and user expectations.
A major shift, further sped by the COVID-19 pandemic, is the shift to virtual reality content. The technology has been “rising” for years and is “coming soon,” but the more VR experience increases at homes, hotels will eventually need some kind of VR-enabled experience.
As noticed in trends many times, guest expectations can change slowly or rapidly. Investing in systems that adapt to changing needs is worthwhile but it is not for the faint of heart due to expenses.
To have considerable cost management, look for a system that is guaranteed for the next five years, or at least nearly future-proof. Software vendors must be able to support their technology with regular updates, to extend your in-room technology’s life as long as possible without impacting the guests’ experience.