NATIONAL REPORT—In an effort to keep their guests entertained, hotels are teaming up with technology partners to allow guest to access a variety of new content in their rooms. Here’s a look:
Hilton Adds iHeartRadio Connected Room Platform
Hilton has a new integration with iHeartRadio to allow guests to stream live radio stations, thousands of music playlists and podcasts directly from their TVs through Hilton’s Connected Room guest technology platform.
With iHeartRadio, guests who stay in Hilton Connected Rooms will be able to play exclusive audio content and have instant access to thousands of live radio stations from across the country, customized music stations based on their favorite artists and top podcasts across all categories including travel, business, sports, entertainment, comedy and more. Travelers can use either their Hilton Honors app or the in-room remote to access the content on their guestroom TV.
As a special benefit to Hilton guests, iHeartRadio is free and no signup is required, which is a special benefit to Hilton guests. Guests need only to open the app on their TV and press play.
Hilton currently has more than 3,500 Connected Rooms across 15 hotels and plans to roll out the technology to the majority of its portfolio of nearly 5,900 hotels over the coming years.
Cedar House Sport Hotel Adds BeyondTV GuestCast
Hotel Internet Services (HIS) has implemented BeyondTV GuestCast at the Cedar House Sport Hotel.
Located near Lake Tahoe, CA and providing its guests with access to an array of outdoor activities such as hiking and skiing, Cedar House Sport Hotel also recognized a need to cater to modern in-room entertainment expectations using GuestCast’s casting abilities.
With the property deciding to remove its video-on-demand service due to a lack of guest interest, hotel leadership sought an alternative solution that could deliver the same high level of content personalization that guests are now accustomed to at home. Ultimately opting against implementing smart televisions due to the lack of privacy controls and risk of guests forgetting to erase personal login information, the hotel instead selected BeyondTV GuestCast. Hotel guests are able to instantly cast their own content to guestroom televisions hassle-free from personal computers, iOS or Android-based devices.
Demonstrating hotel leadership’s belief in the rising demand for casting functionality is the analytical feedback that approximately half of the property’s guestrooms were already utilizing GuestCast within the first week of implementation. Such statistics further bolster the results of a recent HIS guest survey where 64 percent of respondents indicated a preference to cast their own content from personal devices versus using a hotel’s video-on-demand service.
The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Invests in TV and Cast System
Nonius has partnered with The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to update the existing TV system to a full interactive TV and implemented a Cast system allowing guests to stream their own content on the room TVs.
The company reused the hotel’s existing LG Pro:Centric Smart TVs, bringing a new life to the TV system, with an easy to use, content rich Nonius Interactive TV Middleware. In addition to that, new Samsung Hospitality Tizen TVs were installed.
The Cast feature allows guests to stream their content to the in-room TV. Guests only need to be connected to the hotel guest’s WiFi and, like at home, they will be able to stream content to the TV.
Uptown Suites Partners with World Cinema
Uptown Suites has partnered with World Cinema Inc. to provide Netflix to all of its extended-stay properties.
Uptown guests can now access their personal Netflix account conveniently from their room using World Cinema’s WorldVue platform, which is completely customizable and fully 4K-compliant. It enables guests to watch content from a large array of streaming apps including Netflix, Showtime, HBOGO and others.
