Hotel entertainment and the opportunities available for operators have never been more varied. From premium channels and streaming capabilities to guests’ personal content, hotels are prepared to fully accommodate the consumer entertainment experience on the road. Hotel leaders who embrace the new era of entertainment have an opportunity to create a stronger guest experience, even with the array of options available to guests.
The growth of on-property entertainment options can substantially be attributed to hotel leaders understanding their guests better than ever before. Thanks to booking data, operations teams can anticipate when guests arrive on location, how they booked their stay, and how past activity will determine their desired stay experience. Travelers are sharing a great deal of personal information, and in return, they anticipate a faster, more reliable stay from beginning to end.
Once operators have the right technology in place to understand their guests and deliver a standout entertainment experience, there is a huge opportunity to optimize these viewing hours with targeted advertising that highlights your destination’s best attributes. By packaging your property for promotion in the guestroom, operators can reach all their guests at the best possible moment, from solo travelers to wedding parties and conference attendees.
Here are three ways the guestroom TV is helping hoteliers drive new upsell opportunities:
Dining On (Or Around) Property
The in-room television is the ultimate gateway to on-property experiences because it connects travelers to services that are within reach. Additionally, engaging with operations technology aligns with broader travel trends, such as using apps to check in for flights or guestrooms. Travelers are already on their phones, and making the leap to the guestroom TV is almost an expectation from guests these days.
According to a study from Global Market Insights, mobile ordering and payments continue to rise in popularity among consumers, reaching $1.25 trillion in 2024 with a projected 12-percent increase from 2025 to 2034. Travelers are constantly using their phones, and their desire for contactless service persists, tied to trends in personalization, digital menus, and even online ordering.
Guests are anticipating a higher level of service in today’s dining experiences, particularly in the upscale and luxury segments. A recent article in the Michelin Guide listed “service as a culture” as one of the defining food trends this year. A hotel’s attention to detail in service and execution can meaningfully impact both its potential revenue and the overall guest experience. Many destinations are perfectly positioned to deliver on the experiential side of F&B, and guests are asking for it.
The challenge leaders face with the guestroom TV is often not how to increase engagement with the device (more than 70 percent of guests will turn on the television during their stay) but how to best deliver the right content at the right time. Finding ways to integrate your entertainment offerings with online ordering, property management, and revenue management systems is vital.
Spas & Event Experiences
Hotels can gain a significant incremental revenue lift when guests engage with additional services through spa, retail, entertainment, promotion and event packages. The greatest improvements in revenue generation come from using tools that can leverage experiential travel, such as spas and activities, and push these to guests at the right moment.Â
Owners must align with a partner that enables messaging via the in-room televisions and offers seamless integrations with PMS and loyalty systems. According to a report released by Enseo last year, “The Power of Connections Speed, Service, and Value Driving the Digitized In-Room Guest Experience,” integrations with guestroom entertainment and the PMS allow their property to quickly and easily push these promotions directly to guests through the TV. By extension, guests will have awareness of and access to promotions that they are most likely to engage with at the opportune moment.
In addition, the TV serves as a powerful platform for promoting on-site weddings, corporate events, and more. Aligning with the right technology partner enables hotels to offer marketing packages to groups through customizable screens and channels programmed with event-specific content.Â
With the right tools in place, hotels can showcase schedules, photos and videos; create dedicated channels in the guide; and communicate directly with attendees using group-specific messaging. Operators can even tailor their welcome screen for specific groups with personalized messaging or imagery, providing a fresh approach to events while creating meaningful opportunities to drive incremental revenue for the property.
The goal of integrating these systems is to offer hyper-personalized stays that act as extensions of travelers’ existing habits, wants, and needs. To do so, hotels need partners that enable them to be targeted, specific, and lightning fast.
Unique & Automated Promotions
Every aspect of hospitality is becoming more experiential, including a growing need for themed dining events and interactive experiences. Part of the experiential mindset is living in the moment, and while travelers do like to book much of their trip in advance, it’s important for hotels to keep the spirit of spontaneity in mind when marketing their property’s best attributes.Â
For example, during the booking process, travelers typically select a tee time for the golf course and, once on-site, a spa treatment. But few consumers are fully aware of all the potential F&B services at each property, or keep track of all available amenities before arrival. Once in their room, reminders on the guestroom TV can encourage guests to engage with the hotel’s available bike rentals, select an F&B spot for breakfast, or learn about local history relevant to their destination.
When hoteliers can connect guest data from the PMS and loyalty programs with in-room marketing technology, operators can automate their entertainment campaigns to easily reach guests. This is important for executing experiential hospitality strategies, as guests are attracted to hotels that amplify these promotions, but are often challenged to determine which local experience they are most interested in prior to arrival.
According to a Preferred Hotels Luxury Travel Report, a property’s ability to connect authentically with the local community influences bookings 51 percent of the time, while innovative, destination-enhancing experiences sway them 48 percent of the time. The more a hotel engages with guests through guestroom marketing, the more likely travelers are to soak up the local area, and by extension, your locale’s most attractive qualities.
Operators must strike a fine line between entertaining and engaging with travelers about their amenities, but the technology is available to do so. Now is the time to embrace our industry's knowledge of guest preferences to offer the experiences travelers deserve, starting with engagement through the guestroom television.
Kevin Sweeney is chief product officer at Enseo.