ENERGETIC ENTERTAINMENT

In-room entertainment in hotel rooms is changing as the world moves to a connected, on-your-fingertips model

- BINDU GOPAL RAO

Hotels have always been focused on technological enhancements to improve specific touchpoints of the guest journey and provide innovative solutions. Entertainment plays an integral role in the guest experience today.

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Guests wish for the hotel television experience to mirror the athome TV experience. They prefer to view their content in their rooms or bring their own device (BYOD) with their favourites preloaded. Bjorn Fernandes, Director of Sales & Marketing, The Westin Mumbai Powai Lake, explains, "As the epicentre of entertainment, the hotel provides both these options for the new-age traveller in conjunction with the company's ingrained philosophy to 'Play Well'. We also provide a service called 'video on demand' and 'payper-view programming' to give our guests the flexibility to choose from the plethora of content we have in our database, which we also keep upgrading. Most guests use the video-on-demand service simply for the ease of convenience."

Today, most modern hotel rooms are equipped with the latest devices, such as Wi-Fi-enabled smart interactive televisions, Amazon fire sticks for on-demand entertainment, and Alexa. Mehul Sharma, Founder & CEO, Signum Hotels & Resorts, says, "In today's connected world, guests are pleased to find tech devices in the room that make them work and play with ease. However, I do believe that people continue to remain at the heart of hospitality, albeit with a touch of high-end technology. We are seeing a rise of about 8-10% in terms of people who prefer using Netflix in-room, especially during workcations and staycations. We have seen an uptick in the usage of in-room entertainment, especially post-pandemic. Some guests even request for gaming consoles such as X Boxes and Playstations, and we cater to such requirements too."

CONNECTED WORLD