A frequent road warrior and vacationer lament is that hotel TV pales in comparison to what they have at home. “Products and solutions that have generated excellent results on the residential side can help businesses, particularly in the hospitality industry, gain an edge in attracting new and returning consumers,” Greg Ireland, multiscreen video analyst at IDC, observes.
Operators are well aware of the opportunity to improve services in this area to increase guest satisfaction, not to mention reduce the strain on the hotel WiFi caused by excessive streaming. For example, last year Comcast Business announced trials of its advanced X1 video platform in the hospitality industry with Philadelphia hotels. X1 features reportedly trialed with hotels included voice control, pause/rewind of live TV, and free-to-guest on-demand. It also included the X1 Sports app for real-time scores and stats.
AT&T is edging forward on its hotel in-room entertainment strategies for hotels and lodging guests through its DirecTV Residential Experience (DRE) with DirecTV Cinema programs. In addition to current DRE features – premium content, new pay-per-view releases, an interactive program guide, and select DVR features – guests now reportedly have access to the entire content library from HBO and Showtime. Content from Cinemax, Starz, Encore, and more networks are promised soon.
No subscription, login, or account authentication by hotel guests are required.
“Properties with DRE have an advantage because they can offer their guests some of the comforts of home,” Doug Eichler, VP of commercial DirecTV sales at AT&T, says.
DRE is said to be available at more than 4,500 U.S. hotel locations, which includes properties managed by Best Western, Hyatt, Starwood, and others.
