Though the United States government mandated switch to a digital television signal doesn’t take effect until February 2009, hoteliers throughout the country already are equipping their guestrooms with high-definition and flat-screen TVs.
According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s 2008 Lodging Survey, the number of hotels offering HDTV sets in guestrooms increased dramatically from 10 percent in 2006 to 36 percent in 2008. The same study, which was performed by Smith Travel Research, also found that 43 percent of hotel guestrooms have flat-screen TVs, up from 12 percent in 2006. The survey was conducted by Smith Travel Research and comprises responses from more than 10,000 lodging properties throughout the United States.
The results are not surprising, said Jeff Loether, president of Electro-Media Design Ltd. based in Rockville, Md. In addition to preparing for the government changeover, hotels have begun to install higher-quality television sets so as not to appear old and dated.
“At this point, full-service hotels that still have CRT [cathode ray tube] televisions stand out as clearly dated,” he said. “A guest arriving in a room that has an ‘old’ television knows they are in an old room. Everything is dated.”
For Dan Gilligan, vice president of energy and environmental services at Accor North America, the gradual rollout of 32-inch LCD TVs as part of the chain’s new Phoenix-prototype guestroom renovations also reflects a simple matter of supply and demand.
“The TV sizes we generally utilized, like 24 inches, are no longer manufactured,” he said.
Similarly, many media-related service providers are no longer offering analog installations and services.
“We are no longer offering non HD systems,” said Scott Young, LodgeNet’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer.
Joe McInerney, president and CEO of the AH&LA, said the HD standard also mirrors the changing expectations of travelers.
“Flat TVs and plasmas TVs are something that the customer wants,” he said. “That’s why they’re there.”
Said Young, “Customers are increasingly used to having a flat-panel TV in their home, so hotels want to make sure that the experience at home is as attractive of their own experience.”
As these expectations become the norm, the implementation of HD and flat-screen TVs are fueling a technological cold war between hotels, said Loether.
“Remember the ‘bed wars’ of just a few years ago? This is what seems to be occurring in televisions now,” he said. “The basic ante is the flat screen. Next step up is having a passive input panel at the desk, sometimes called a JackPack. This is a set of connectors which allows the guest to plug in their laptop, iPod, DVD player or other signal source and have it show up on the television.”
McInerney said, “When the Hampton Inn puts it in, the Courtyard down the street has to put it in.”
But while many chains would like to keep up with or stay ahead of their competitors, installing new TVs isn’t as easy as simply sticking a plug into an outlet.
“Often, you need to so some updating of the network in the hotels that handle the capacity of the HD channels,” Young said. “You sometimes need additional hardware beyond the television to deal with the cost protection and security of the HD content.
“Content companies have asked or additional protection on HD content. You need to make sure you have the appropriate content encryption and decryption hardware in your building and also your television.”
Additionally, another challenge relates to what Loether calls “acoustic isolation between guestrooms.”
“Most brand standards for party wall construction were developed when guestrooms were equipped with clock radios and televisions that had a 2-inch speaker,” he said. “Today’s flat-panel HD televisions have 50-watt, high-fidelity sound systems. Much more sound energy in the room results in more guest complaints.”
Gilligan anticipates similar problems, adding that wall-mounted units might require extra sound insulation.
Loether says the problem can be negated with proactive measures on the part of hoteliers.
“The hotels will need to adjust the maximum volume settings on the televisions, and that means proper balancing of the television ‘headend’ [the master facility for signal processing and distribution over a television system] to make it so that all television channel audio signals are approximately equal in level. And perhaps consider adding a layer of drywall on the demising partitions.”