Guests’ expectations are evolving. With new innovations, technologies and entertainment options, the possibilities are endless, especially within the walls of the guestroom.
To talk about the ever-changing guestroom experience, Glenn Haussman, founder/host, No Vacancy Live podcast, moderated the latest Hotel Business Hot Topics session, “Home Suite Home: Self-directing the Hotel Room Experience,” in partnership with DIRECTV Hospitality.
Participating in the discussion were Anna Scozzafava, VP/general manager, extended-stay brands, strategy & operations, Choice Hotels International; Ron Pohl, president, international operations, BWH Hotels and president, WorldHotels; Kristen Hanich, director, research, Parks Associates; Matt Schwartz, CTO, Sage Hospitality Group; Peter Palli, SVP, property, owner and stay experience products & platforms, IHG Hotels & Resorts; and Kimberly Twiggs, associate VP, DIRECTV Hospitality.
Pohl kicked it off with insight about the in-room hospitality experience.
“It’s about making [the guestroom experience]similar to the home experience,” he said. “The key focus for us right now is streaming, casting and accessibility to the TV by using a mobile device. As we continue to evolve the ability to do that, it’s complicated, and I’m glad we have DIRECTV to help us with that. That’s where we’re seeing the most usage.”
In her position, Scozzafava is focused on extended-stay, a segment that’s hot right now and one where guests are staying on-property and in their rooms for longer periods of time.
“One of the things we do is build out an innovation center, where we set up guestrooms so that we’re able to bring through guests and conduct different research and make sure that we are thinking about every touchpoint in the room,” she shared. “It’s not just about one aspect of the room.”
For Everhome Suites in particular, Choice is focused on casting capabilities as guests love to be able to bring their own content into the room.
IHG recently announced it will integrate Apple Play so that guests can share content from their iPhone or iPad to their guestroom TV.
“We are working on that in conjunction with us continuing to expand our in-house IHG studio product,” Palli said. “The ultimate goal is to make it as easy as possible for the consumer.”
It’s these types of conveniences guests are looking for that make a hotel stay feel like an at-home experience.
On the management side, Schwartz is focused on a few points that he looks for in a guestroom.
“What I’m thinking about is simple things: connectivity—amazing WiFi and cell connectivity; the TV size—you can have all the content in the world but if you don’t have the right screen to put it on it makes a huge difference; and having an Alexa-type vehicle,” Schwartz said.
Haussman noted that the TV size, for him, is symbolic of the effort the hotel is putting into making the guest feel good about their stay.
Parks Associates performs a handful of consumer surveys, and in the first quarter of this year—in partnership with DIRECTV—the company asked 5,000 households about their most recent hotel stays, how they consume video at the hotel and what they’re looking for in this arena.
“Around 80% reported watching video on the hotel TV in their most recent stay,” Hanich noted. “What we also found is that while there is a meaningfully large percentage currently connecting their phone to the hotel TV, most consumers are still watching live TV channels, so there isn’t necessarily a lot of access to that mobile connection. It’s certainly a point of differentiation for a some folks.”
Getting guests’ desired content onto the screen isn’t always easy, as shown in Hanich’s numbers.
“It is true the path of least resistance in the hotel is still live TV,” Twiggs said. “The other statistic that’s coming up is 70% of guests are interested in logging into their streaming subscriptions in the room. I think the opportunity for providers like DIRECTV is to make that a reality.”
Hanich noted that what guests want to do and what they can do in the room are sometimes two different things in the hotel environment.
“It’s up to partners like DIRECTV to work with the brands and ownership groups to bring the technology at home into the guestroom so we can make what they want come true,” Hanich said.
The participants agreed that even the shiniest new technology must work or else it’s a waste. That means a seamless experience with connectivity at the forefront.
“We want to make sure we’re meeting guests to where their demands are, and there is a timing aspect to a lot of these streaming services,” Schwartz said. He added that if guests are staying at a hotel that doesn’t allow them to access content efficiently, that’s a major deficiency.
“Having that connectivity and understanding where guests are making decisions and making that seamless is very important throughout the entire customer journey,” Scozzafava said. “It’s got to be easy, easy, easy.”
Generationally speaking
Pohl said that while connectivity remains paramount, he’s seeing some of these expectations differ between generations.
“Connecting to those customers is meaningfully different and especially as you get to the Gen Y and Z, where gaming is a part of their lives when they go to hotels,” Pohl said. “They would like to see those capabilities built into that experience. Travel is often dictated by the wife or the children and not typically the fathers, so how are we meeting those expectations?”
Hanich said that having various ways to access new content is helpful in appealing to a wide range of audiences.
“Generationally, of course, there’s this big difference with younger consumers who may be more interested in gaming and older consumers watching more video,” she said. “I’d say those Baby boomers are a little less interested in the tech features but still interested in universal search and an easy way to access content.”
It really comes down to the user experience and being able to keep people engaged for a long time, regardless of demographics.
Twiggs mentioned the DIRECTV Advanced Entertainment Platform (AEP), the company’s premium solution, which brings this cross-generational suite of products onto the hotel TV.
“What we’re focused on is the TV in the room and how we can make the content most accessible across the board,” Twiggs said. “One of the things we’ve been testing for in the research is this concept of universal search, and that really resonates across all demographics and generations. There’s such a plethora of content out there right now and so many different subscription services. We want to aggregate that into one place on the hotel room TV and make it easy for guests to find.”
Palli noted that while it’s helpful to study demographics and tendencies, it’s also important to remember that each person has a range of entertainment and travel preferences.
“Even if you were fitting me into a specific box or set, my needs and what I expect from a hotel tend to vary because I’m not just one thing,” he said. “Sometimes it’s Tuesday night business travel in a major U.S. metropolitan area, and sometimes it’s a weekend away with the family.”
Ultimately, Palli said, it’s about how hoteliers provide guests with choice and control. Depending on the reason for the stay, it’s important to give guests the opportunity to customize their experience and choose what works best for them.
“Choice is really important,” Scozzafava agreed, adding that for extended-stay properties, variety is better than less given that you’re living on-site.
“I think the choice part of that is critical,” she continued. “Being able to provide capabilities bring their own content. As we roll out these types of technologies and capabilities, it’s important to keep in mind the owner side of this, making sure we’re keeping costs in line and that we’re not necessarily on the leading edge of some of these technologies. We want be very deliberate and thoughtful about where the consumers actually want us to spend the money and provide the choice.”
Pohl said that BWH Hotels doesn’t like to be on the leading edge of some of these different technologies either, being cautious about fads falling off.
“We think about how we require the things that are important to the customer but also have a return for the owner,” he said.
Common sense must prevail, he added, and COVID gave the industry a reset on what standards need to be in a hotel, and what’s important and what’s not.
“When you have supply chain on top of that, the availability of product changed really what the necessity was,” Pohl said. “We must look smarter at what guests expect. The actual standards themselves are evolving.”
The mobile key is a good example of a technology that isn’t frictionless, he added, noting the industry needs to use technologies that expedite processes and drive revenue.
“We’re all our own customer,” Schwartz said. “What are the things you look for? You want a clean and quiet room, and you want to have a place to go to decompress and connect for work and personal. You also want to have a room that has enough tech in it that the guest is going to be able to meet their needs while at the same time being thoughtful.”
