May 23, 2012Hyatt transforms guestroom TVs to include Internet, guest services
Imagine ordering room service from your hotel room television, or dimming the lights from your TV remote control. Imagine sending a file straight from your computer to your TV, so the front desk can download and print it for you before your big meeting. Imagine a world where everything is controlled by your TV set. To the folks at Hyatt Hotels, this world isn’t an imaginary place.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced it is “transforming the standard in-room television into a fully connected, interactive entertainment center and virtual concierge at its full-service properties across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean.” What’s this mean for guests? It means with the touch of a button, everything is controlled from your guest room TV set. Prescriptive Music, along with Mirrored Media and Hype Music, were selected to be the music supervisors and supply the background music for each location.
Hyatt says that once installation is complete, guests will have access to everything from room service to local destination information (depending on the property), and will be able to manage the functions of their room and trip via the television.
Example of the Roomlinx television screen at Hyatt Regency New Orleans. Over the next two years, Hyatt will install Roomlinx in-room entertainment systems in full service properties in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. (Photo: Business Wire)The new TV systems have already been installed in the nearly 1,800 guestrooms at Hyatt Regency New Orleans, Andaz 5th Avenue in New York, and most recently at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center. Over the next two years, Hyatt says the advanced technology will be installed in up to 60,000 guestrooms across Hyatt’s North America properties.
The new TVs will allow guests to a variety of daily tasks including:
- Set mood music and lighting
- Browse the Internet and check in on Facebook, Twitter, and other sites
- Order Netflix movies from their account
- Manage business accounts (print documents and presentations)
- Make hotel room service orders and housekeeping requests
- Make dinner reservations and book local destination tours
- Meeting and group planners will be able to send customized messages to the rooms of their guests attending the meetings and events
According to USA Today, the costs for this service remain minimal. Basic cable won’t cost anything (it was always free), but there will be a charge for Internet service: standard Internet will cost $9.95 daily; if you have more than one device, you’ll pay $9.95 plus a $5 premium for up to four devices; if you want to stream video you’ll pay the set $14.95.
This isn’t the first big tech move for Hyatt. Over the past year, Hyatt has jumped on the tech-savvy train and introduced the Hyatt app for iPhone®, deployed iPads® at hotels to speed up and simplify check-outs, and at Hyatt’s Andaz hotels, guests use iPads® to check-in, charge items to their rooms and even distribute room keys.
