Hotel Tech-in is our regular feature that takes a closer look at emerging technology in the hospitality industry.
Hotel companies are increasingly integrating new technologies to enhance the guest experience. For example, Marriott is taking a targeted look at the hotel room TV.
Last month, Marriott International announced that, in partnership with LG Electronics, it has developed a new cloud-based guest room entertainment and technology platform that it plans to scale across its hotel portfolio.
The new system aims to bring a “modern approach to in-room entertainment,” while “laying the foundation for device management, and connected guest experiences across Marriott properties,” the company detailed in a news release.
On the heels of the collaboration, executives from Marriott and LG shared more about the technology platform, including how it will create a more seamless, personalized guest room experience while helping hotel teams operate more efficiently.
A new type of television
The new platform combines “LG’s connected-device capabilities with Marriott’s hospitality expertise and enterprise platform,” Drew Pinto, executive vice president and chief revenue and technology officer at Marriott, said in a statement.
The system brings entertainment, hotel information and room functions together through one “easy-to-use” television interface, Jake Benner, senior director of sales at LG, told Hotel Dive.
Guests will have access to a variety of entertainment options, including traditional linear TV, streaming services and free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels, “giving them more choice and flexibility in how they enjoy content during their stay,” Benner said.
The television experience will also offer “personalized advertising through LG Channels and client-side ad insertion capabilities,” according to Marriott.
Beyond guest use, the platform enables Marriott associates to monitor device health, performance and status across individual guest room TVs, entire hotel properties, specific brands or groups of hotels, the company said. The platform aims to help on-property teams identify device issues faster and have greater operational visibility overall.
Since the platform is cloud-based, Benner said, new features and capabilities can be introduced as both guest expectations and technology evolve.
“The bigger opportunity goes beyond entertainment,” he said. “We want to make the television a more integrated part of the guest room experience, rather than just a standalone device.”
Opportunities beyond entertainment
Beyond functioning as a standalone screen, over time, Marriott’s guest room TVs could enable guests to access smart-room services and other personalized digital experiences, Benner said.
The TVs could eventually connect with Internet of Things devices, hotel systems and cloud services “in ways that make the room easier for guests to use and more efficient for hotel teams to manage,” he added.
For example, the TVs could feature connected-room controls for lighting and temperature, leak detection or sensors that give hotel teams better visibility into room conditions, per Benner.
“Today’s guest room TV can do much more than provide entertainment. It can also serve as an important connection point between guests and the hotel,” he said.
The new guest room platform is launching with an initial pilot at 40 Marriott hotels in the U.S. and Canada before potentially expanding across Marriott’s global portfolio, the company said.
