Digital Signage Offers Hoteliers a Way to Serve Guests Better
As digital signs
applications in hotels migrate beyond the lobby, smart hotel managers will use
the technology to help in delivering highly regarded personalized services.
Frequent hotel guests are becoming more
familiar with the growing presence of digital signs in lobbies, near hotel
restaurants and bars and even outside meeting rooms.
That’s not too surprising. A recent forecast
from market researcher iSuppli Corp. indicated the indoor-venue market for
digital signs, which includes hotels, will reach 683,000 units this year and
increase at a 26 percent compounded annual growth rate to 1.7 million units in
2010.
According iSuppli, a good deal of the
growth will come as hoteliers continue to transition from guest room TVs to
flat panel displays, like plasma and LCD screens, and target guests with
customized information and entertainment. With the ability to deliver the same
information displayed in lobbies to in-room displays, hoteliers can offer
guests quick access to what’s happening in their facilities from the comfort
and privacy of guest rooms.
“How guests perceive their rooms can be more powerful than
any other factors in terms of the way they view a hotel’s overall value,” said
Sanju Khatri, principal analyst for projection and large-screen displays at
iSuppli. “Delivering a variety of in-room entertainment options may promote
greater guest satisfaction, leading to repeat business.”
While technology can’t replace the human
dimension of effective customer service, it has a place in equation, reported The Wall Street Journal. A recent article
discussed the use of interactive directories by the Westfield Group designed to
replace the traditional static mall map.
While the application centers on a retail
use, lessons learned from the rollout of 19 such directories at the Westfield
San Francisco Centre are appropriate for hoteliers as well. The directories,
along with 11 concierges, guide shoppers to the right store, display bus and
train schedules and can be used to make reservations for shoppers at local
restaurants.
That same sort of interactivity and
convenience –both in-room and in public areas like lobbies- can help to create
customer loyalty among guests, attracting repeat business from road weary
travelers who know that guest services, reservations and other helpful
information is a remote click or screen touch away.
According to a recent article
in The New York Times, the hotel
market in the United States
currently is experiencing a boom. Quoting figures from Smith Travel Research,
the newspaper reported that the occupancy rate for the first nine months of
2006 was 65.2 percent.
Boosting occupancy rates further may in
large part depend on how well guests are treated. A recent article
in The International Herald Tribune,
pointed out that personalized services –everything from nursing ill business
travelers’ back to health to delivering guest-requested once-over fashion
inspections- offer the industry a way to connect on a personal level with its
guests and induce them to return on their next trip.
The appeal of such services to guests is
self-evident. What might not be so apparent is how hotel managers looking to
minimize costs can deliver them without increasing staff. Based on the success
of the Westfield Group with its interactive mall directories, digital signage
might be the key.
When properly designed in-room and
out-of-room digital signage can transparently collect data from hotel computer
management systems, automatically display that information and even connect
guests interactively to hotel services and those of preferred vendors. In the
process, it can relieve hotel staff from some of their traditional tasks,
allowing them to focus on delivering the personalized services that ingratiate
the hotel with its guests and create customer loyalty.
While forecasts like iSuppli Corp.’s envision
strong growth for digital signage in hotels over the next few years, those
predictions will only come to fruition if the technology can help hoteliers
succeed in attracting and building a loyal customer base. With the ability to
serve up the information guests need and free existing staff to take even
better care of hotel guests, the use of digital signage at hotels is likely to
achieve its growth projections.
Download our Free Digital
Signage White Paper that gives further insight. Why
Digital Signage Works gives a quick overview from an industry perspective
on the fundamentals of digital signage. Included are some recently published
findings by Neilsen Media Research on the measured impact of strategically
placed digital signs.
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