4 Steps to Choosing the Right Digital Hotel Room Device for Your Hotel

In this blog post, we look at how you can choose the best digital hotel room device for your hotel.

Digitalization is changing the way guests experience their hotel stay. Where guests once wanted to stay in a hotel to relax and escape, they now also expect a new, higher level of hotel convenience. Hotel owners like you can provide this level of convenience using digital hotel room devices, but how do you know which devices are best for your hotel and guests?

In this blog post, we’re going to explain how to choose the right digital hotel room device for your hotel in 4 simple steps. You’ll learn about what’s out there on the market, and how to choose a digital solution that will heighten the guest experience at your hotel while also driving revenue, securing your hotel’s success in the long term.

You’ll also find more information on this topic in our free whitepaper, 4 Step Guide to Switching to a Digital Guest Directory.

Step 1: Identify processes that can be optimized at your hotel

Digitalization brings more than just flashy new technical equipment to your hotel—it offers new ways for your guests and hotel staff to communicate. Before you can truly decide on what type of digital hotel room device is best for your hotel, you first need to identify how digitalization can help your hotel.

Consider what areas can be streamlined. One of the most common areas where processes can be optimized is room service processes. Digital hotel room devices allow hotel guests to order room service without needing to place a call to reception—much like ordering take-out on their personal digital devices. This means that orders can go straight through to the kitchen, saving crucial time and freeing up reception staff to spend their time on other more important tasks.

Digitalization offers an unparalleled ability to optimize processes when compared to traditional ways of running a hotel. In this first step, identify how you would like your new digital solution to optimize the processes that are specific to your hotel. Once you have brainstormed these ideas, it’s time to move on to the next step.

Step 2: Identify what your hotel guests want from your hotel

In addition to understanding what processes can be implemented at your hotel, you should also understand what your guests want as this will determine what digital platform is best for you. Do they seek relaxation or adventure, sightseeing or sunbathing, or a mixture of all of these attributes? If you’re a business hotel, your guests are more likely to want to eat food on the go, but if you’re a spa resort, you’ll want a device that can exhibit the range of spa packages and therapies in a way that encourages guests to book.

Once you have identified the key reasons guests come to your hotel, you can decide on some personas that help you determine what they may want. Understanding the demographic of your guests will enable you to make the most of your digital hotel room devices. You may already have personas set out as part of your business plan, so this is also a good time to use these.

If you’re looking for inspiration on the types of services that different guests at different hotel types look for, check out our whitepaper, Boost Room Service Sales at Your Hotel.

Step 3: Decide on the best type of digital hotel room device for your hotel

There is a wide range of digital hotel room devices out there to help you optimize processes at your hotel, so you should make sure you’re well versed in what they can offer you. The three main types of digital hotel room platforms are hotel apps, hotel room tablets, and hotel room TVs.

While hotel apps and hotel TV have some pros, they are quite heavily outweighed by the cons that include issues with accessibility, compatibility, and usability. Hotel room tablets such as SuitePad overcome these issues as they are specifically designed to be used as guest communication devices. They can be adapted to meet hotels’ branding requirements, have optimal usability, conform to GDPR and other data storage issues, can be integrated with hotel room phones and TV remotes, and provide an additional entertainment device in the hotel room.

To see a more in-depth and comparison of the different hotel platform types, check out our blog post, Comparing App-Based and Tablet-Based Solutions.

Step 4: Which provider offers you the most support?

Once you have identified what you want from your new digital hotel room device and chosen the platform that works best for your hotel, you should start inquiring with companies about what they can provide beyond simply shipping the device to your hotel. Many companies make good platforms, but what else is included in your subscription or payment plan? Will you be expected to pay more for support, or is this included in the price? Here are a few things you should look for in a good digital hotel room device provider:

- Do you have on-hand support from experts?

- Will you be able to customize your platform to help keep up with evolving guest needs and interests?

- Do you have regular access to add-on features and new updates that will help enhance the in-room experience?

- Will you be able to get insights about new usage trends on a national and international scale?

All of these are important questions to answer if you are going to be successful with your new in-room technology. Having a provider that goes that extra mile to ensure you get the most out of your digital hotel room platforms will make all the difference and allow you to make real, educated decisions that are backed by clear evidence and statistics.

Choosing the right hotel room technology platform will boost your hotel after the pandemic

With the end of the pandemic in sight and the road to recovery well underway, it’s time for hoteliers to start thinking about how they can boost their businesses once the world to travel opens. With holidaymakers having been away for so long, the addition of in-room technology will certainly be a welcome surprise for them. It will highlight a new age for hotel stays where convenience is king and hoteliers prove to guests that they want to make their stay as personalized as possible.

If you’re looking to introduce hotel room technology to your hotel, check out our free 4 Step Guide to Switching to a Digital Guest Directory. You’ll learn all about how digital guest directories can boost ROI and improve the guest experience at your hotel, while also learning about how to choose the best one and optimally install it.

At a time when guests are chomping at the bit to return to normal, there’s no better time than now to invest in boosting their experience at your hotel with digitalization!

_{- Published on April 26, 2021}