Guests are bringing their own personal entertainment systems into their hotel rooms these days. Whether it be on a smartphone or a tablet, they’re reading the news, posting on social media and watching their favorite TV shows and movies. All they need is high-speed Internet. They don’t even need a TV – unless the hotel offers them a way to stream their content through the one in the room.
Marriott Hotels first announced a partnership with streaming service Netflix in 2015 that allows guests to sign into their Netflix account through the in-room TV. When the guest checks out, their log-in information is automatically cleared from the system. Since then, other streaming services have popped up in hotels, powered by a handful of different providers including Enseo, AppleTV and Hulu. But now, thanks to increasingly tech-savvy guess, hotels have shifted the focus from streaming accounts on the TV to enabling guests to stream to the TV directly from apps on their mobile devices.
“The hotel customer is changing. Baby boomers are aging, there’s Gen X in the middle, and now millennials are the largest generation,” said Robert Rippee, director of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ Hospitality Lab. “With that shift comes an expectation that entertainment is more closely aligned to the guest’s mobile device than the entertainment that’s in the room.”
Added Michelle Russo, CEO and founder of HotelAVE, a hospitality asset management firm, “Hotels customers expect, at a minimum, what they have at home. But they are also looking for experiences that are better than what they at home.” That’s why hotels are rapidly rolling out other technologies like keyless entry, voice-activated rooms, texting and even robots.
“Guests expect hotels to be extensions of their own homes and to have similar technology at their fingertips… TVs, sound systems, adapters, Wi-Fi speed, etc.,” said Jeroen Quint, general manager at Hotel Irvine in Irvine, California, which allows guests to stream content from their devices to the TV as well as text the hotel for requests during their stay.
Catching up
When it comes to the demand for cutting edge in-room entertainment, Russo’s colleague, Patrick McMonigle, vice president of HotelAVE, put it more simply: “Streaming is eventually going to be expected by everyone. If you don’t have it, you’ll be trying to catch up.”
Providing what guests want from their hotel’s technology offerings usually requires a hefty investment in infrastructure, particularly for older properties. “Old hotels have old cabling systems that can’t handle the bandwidth needed for streaming,” McMonigle said. “That’s the big challenge for existing hotels. Not only do you have to pay for all the streaming equipment, you have to invest in the infrastructure.”
Another concern is having enough bandwidth to handle guests’ Internet activities.
Eric Marlo, global brand manager for Marriott International’s Aloft Hotels, which is piloting a service that allows guests to stream from their phones, admitted that streaming services are a strain on bandwidth. Aloft Hotels has a higher industry standard for bandwidth at 70MB, and Marlo said that will soon be boosted up to 100 MB.
“We kind of went into this (streaming) space knowing that more bandwidth would be necessary, so we decided to upgrade our bandwidth now and in doing that, future-proof the brand for newer technologies,” Marlo said. “Even with RoomCast” –that’s Aloft’s new streaming service – “and voice-activated hotel rooms and guests signing on with multiple devices, we still have room for more. For now, that is. In 10 years, maybe not.”
One option to ease the strain on bandwidth is to install a fiber-to-room infrastructure that delivers higher bandwidth at lower costs and takes up less physical space. This would work best for a new construction or a major hotel renovation.
“It’s very promising in reducing a lot of technical issues, especially regarding infrastructure,” Marlo said. “We have a number of owners looking to implement it, but it’s still very new in the hotel world.” Until then, Marlo said Aloft will continue to monitor the amount of bandwidth in their hotels and increase it as needed.
Investing in unknowns
Investing in technology infrastructure and new products seems to be something every hotel has to do, even if the return is a big unknown.
“The return is hard to measure,” HotelAVE’s McMonigle said. “It’s more subtle. It’s more about the ability to satisfy your customers.”
Quint, the general manager at Hotel Irvine, said the hotel is willing to explore whatever will improve the guest experience. “Providing our guests with the speedy service they want, and how they want it, drives loyalty and repeat stays, which is where the true gain is,” he said.
Marriott doesn’t have mobile streaming yet, but it’s something they are “working hard” to offer, said Mike Dearing, executive vice president of finance for Marriott Hotels, simply because they know it’s what their target guests want.
“We’ve got this great HDTV on the wall, and we’re trying to make possible for guests to use their own content,” Dearing said. “The faster the Internet can be, the more we can accommodate the bandwidth. It can be difficult to balance the economics with demands. But more and more owners are willing to move in that direction knowing how critical it is for today’s guest.”
Richard Millard, chairman and CEO of Trust Hospitality, said hotel owners have to make extremely calculated long-term decisions. “Some of this stuff moves so rapidly. You don’t want to be a guinea pig, but you don’t want to be left behind, either.”
One thing is certain: The set-top box’s days are numbered. “The guest room of the future will be based on integration of the guest’s personal device as the primary controls mechanism,” UNLV’s Rippee said.
“The pay-for movies are gone, never to return,” Millard added. Indeed, HotelAVE said some hotels are waiting for their pay-per-view contracts to expire so they can upgrade to a more modern streaming solution. Marlo said Aloft Hotels still has a pay-per-view system in their hotels, for now. “We’re always looking at what’s going on and trying to stay five to 10 steps ahead of that,” he said. “If nobody is using pay-per-view in five years and it’s an extra cost, then why would we have it?”
Yet one has to wonder whether all the streaming technologies hotels are investing in today could become obsolete in a few years.
David Israel, senior vice president of HotelAVE, recommended that hotels sign shorter time contracts with vendors, opting to pay a little bit more up front for the services or have it amortized over a shorter period of time. “The idea and concept is not obsolete when you’re planning it but the moment you put in you’re already behind. Because it takes six months to do it and then another six months to get it in.”
Rippee said hotel owners and developers should pay closer attention to trends in innovation, which are moving faster than before. “They can’t afford to wait until customer is demanding (technology) to start thinking about how to employ it,” he said.
What guests are looking for with in-room entertainment
Take control. “Guests want to take control of their room environment. It’s our job as leaders of innovation in hospitality to push the envelope and bring as many options to our guests as we can.” — Eric Marlo, global brand leader, Aloft Hotels
No apps. “People are sick of apps. They don’t want to put a new app on their phone every time they stay somewhere.” — Richard Millard, chairman and CEO, Trust Hospitality
Convenience. “Guests want convenience at a good value. They also want quick and easy to understand and operate technology.” — Jeroen Quint, general manager, Hotel Irvine
Customization. “Gen X and Gen Y want customization…to have their own personal experiences when they want them.” — Michelle Russo, founder and CEO of HotelAVE
Choice. “The guiding philosophy for us is to give people the option. There are still folks who like to interact when they check in and have human contact, then there are people who love to do it all through the Marriott app. We want to make it easy for people to do things their way.” — Mike Dearing, executive vice president of finance, Marriott Hotels