Netflix was iNitially reluctaNt to eNgage with hospitality , obviously they have a lot of moving parts in their operation , but they finally saw the light and decided to partner with Marriott , and we ’ re very happy .
Technology : EntErtainmEnt
president of operations for hotels and casinos , noting the feature will be available in early 2016 . “ When you get to the room , if you ’ re my father , you ’ ll have channel up , channel down , volume up , volume down . If you ’ re my niece , you can input a code and your telephone becomes the remote control of the room and you have what is called over the top apps that are available on the TV , so you can start looking at your own apps , like Netflix or Hulu , in the room .”
Out with the old Recent innovation in guestroom entertainment technology begs the question of what outdated services and amenities can be marginalized , if not entirely replaced . Of course telecom revenue was the first to die thanks to the mobile revolution , and pay-per-view movies — particularly adult films — appear to be next . In fact , Hilton recently announced it will no longer offer pay-per-view adult movies in its hotels , and sources expect others to soon follow suit . “ If someone wants porn , they don ’ t need to pay the hotel to see it ,” Cole says . “ It used to be a huge profit maker , and now there ’ s no utilization , so why bother ? There ’ s no ROI on it , let alone for a new hotel to go build a new system or sign a contract .”
But some say that ’ s just the beginning . Marriott ’ s Hansen says the company is working to digitize as much of the traditional in-room paper materials as possible , putting channel guides , guest directories and local information onto the in-room portal accessed through its entertainment platform . In a similar effort , AccorHotels is now offering guests free newspapers in 60 languages , accessed in digital , downloadable formats at 1,000 of its hotels . Accor- Hotels execs say the amenity hasn ’ t fully replaced printed editions of newspapers at its hotels , but the expanded range of offerings the service provides and the convenience of it signals that this is the way of the future .
“ You can read more than 4,000 newspapers free of charge , anytime , anywhere in the hotel ,” says David Esseryk , AccorHotels ’ vice president of guest technology . “ We used to have newspapers just at breakfast , but now you can download them as a PDFs , read them anywhere , anytime .”
Marriott is also working to make all guest requests possible through mobile devices , and room landline phones only necessary for emergency calls . The company recently launched a service called Marriott Mobile Request , which provides guest-tostaff interactions , building upon the mobile check-in / check-out features already included in the company ’ s branded app .
“ Now you can have two-way communication with the hotel even before you arrive ,” says Michael Dail , Marriott ’ s vice president of global brand marketing . “ Some of the common things people are using it for are if you want to move your check-out date , or what time you ’ re going to arrive , if you want to make a special
Netflix was iNitially reluctaNt to eNgage with hospitality , obviously they have a lot of moving parts in their operation , but they finally saw the light and decided to partner with Marriott , and we ’ re very happy .
- Scott Hansen , Marriott International request , if you want to have food delivered , have the meeting room time changed … all that stuff happens real-time through the communication . Customers really love it , and we ’ re seeing a lot of adoption .”
The service debuted at 50 hotels around the globe in May , and by the end of October it was available in every Marriott hotel worldwide , and in five languages . Dail also notes that the feature doesn ’ t just boost guest satisfaction ; staff members are finding great benefits from the new service as well .
“ The associates love it because they can get customers ’ needs communicated in advance ,” Dail says . “ When we know when customers are arriving , everything ’ s pulled , and it ’ s ready to go when they get there . For the guest , they really enjoy that validation and ease and just another option of communicating with the hotel .”
Other companies are seeking to bundle as many services as possible into their mobile apps , so that a guest ’ s own device is the only piece of equipment needed to utilize in-room services . AccorHotels ’ Esseryk says the company is building a comprehensive mobile and digital guestroom interface , so instead of going several different places depending on the service desired , guests can access everything from a main screen . This includes streaming music and video , as well as free on-demand movies .
“ Right after the connection page , you get your landing page , which will be replaced with a portal with 40 different services : room service , restaurant reservations , etc .,” Esseryk says . “ We ’ ve introduced video on demand that ’ s totally free of charge , and we have 200 movies . I think the time is over for pay TV movies , where you used to make money . Now you will make money when you digitize your many services .”
62 HOTELS November 2015 www . hotelsmag . com