TV and entertainment in hotels

What guests expect

• To cast from their phone to the TV, without typing their passwords into someone else's device.
• Channels in their language.
• A TV that turns on quickly with a simple remote.
• WiFi that can handle video.

Ways to distribute TV

• Traditional coax: aerial or satellite signal reaches each room over coaxial cable. Simple, but limited.
• IPTV: channels travel over the data network. More channels, a guide, hotel information and central management. It needs a well-designed network.
• Hospitality TVs: models made for hotels, with hotel mode, remote management and a welcome screen.

Casting from a phone

The challenge is that each guest should see only the TV in their own room on their phone, not every TV in the hotel, and that any session is wiped at check-out. There are hotel-specific solutions that handle this, usually by pairing with a code or QR on screen.

The network

• TVs wired wherever possible.
• A VLAN for TV, separate from guests and from hotel operations.
• Switches that handle multicast video, if IPTV is used.
• Enough bandwidth: video is the biggest load on the guest network.

Information and services on screen

• A welcome message with the guest's name, if integrated with the management system.
• Restaurant, spa and service hours; menu and room service.
• Local information: weather, slope conditions, activities.

All in several languages.

Central management

With a hundred TVs, updating channels or changing a message room by room isn't practical. Central management lets you do it from one computer and see which TV has a fault.

Broadcast rights

Showing channels and content in premises open to the public is subject to rights and licences. Check with your content providers and the relevant collecting societies.

In a renovation

If the hotel has coax in good condition, it can be kept for channels and phone casting added over the network. In a renovation with new cabling, the recommendation is a network outlet at every TV.