The biggest interactive TV (iTV) solutions provider you’ve never met is coming to HITEC to unveil a new end-to-end, managed-services iTV solution that is “Connecting Lives and Connecting Worlds” in the cloud. To reinvent a next generation iTV platform for the next generation of travelers, ADB commissioned a neutral, independent study through The Prism Partnership in cooperation with the Consultancy at Pointer’s Ridge to determine exactly what guests and hoteliers want in an in-room entertainment solution, specifically relating to the guestroom TV experience.
Two thousand demographically-balanced hotel stayers representing stays at luxury, upscale, midscale and economy tiers were surveyed for this project. The survey tool was developed on a strong foundation of Hotel Industry Executive Interviews and Consumer Focus Groups, where participants were asked in-depth questions about how they use the hotel in-room TV today, and what they want or foresee in the future of hotel in-room entertainment solutions. Respondents were then asked to rate the appeal of current programming and services and propose new in-room entertainment features.
“The findings from this study were very enlightening,” said Chris Dinallo, ADB’s SVP Business TV. “We will present the results to qualified attendees at HITEC and also make them widely available after the show.
“Participants eagerly identified which features are important to their in-room viewing experience,” he said. “Specifically, we wanted to learn how closely the hotel TV experience should mirror what guests have at home; whether they prefer to view content on their personal mobile devices (BYOD) vs. the guestroom TV; how guests prefer to watch BYOD (do they connect to the TV and how); the likelihood of guests downloading a hotel app; and, what they expect to find in the guestroom of tomorrow.”
Here is a sneak peek at what hoteliers said they want in an iTV platform:
- A robust and stable PMS Interface
- An “at-home” experience enabling guests to log on to their streaming accounts and own devices
- An eco-system of vendors enabling guests to get what they want
- Searchable IPG and Over The Top (OTT) services like Screencasting
- No limits on what TVs can do
- Ability to upgrade IRE system every 2 to 3 years vs. the 5 to7 year norm
Here’s a sneak peek at what guests said they want from an iTV experience:
- Nearly 90% of hotel guests in the focus groups said they want an easy and intuitive user experience vs. needing to re-learn how to operate the hotel TV
- 82% of guests said Searchable IPG is important to their iTV Experience
- 62% of guests want a guestroom TV experience similar to what they have at home; 38% want an experience “Better Than” what they have at home with more channels, more choices, better picture via an intuitive and interactive platform
A White Paper provided post HITEC will expand on these findings and look at the generational differences of viewpoint.
“ADB commissioned an independent, sophisticated, multi-tiered research program design starting with executive interviews and qualitative focus groups to explore consumer and hotelier perceptions, then proceeding to survey more than 2,000 travelers for quantitative validation,” said Elaine Hendricks, Partner and Director of Research at The Prism Partnership. “The data that is soon-to-be released represents statistically meaningful quantitative research.”
At HITEC, ADB will unveil its new iTV platform build with these specific hotelier and guest requirements in mind. Attendees looking for an in-room entertainment platform that is quick to install, simple to manage, easy to customize with branded features, and offers the lowest capital and operational expenditures of any competing solution, should meet with ADB in Booth #134.
With its U.S. headquarters in Broomfield, Colo., ADB has installations in more than 80 countries, with over 100 million devices deployed.
