TV technology is on the fast track these days. It seems like not a month passes when a TV manufacturer doesn’t announce a new smart TV. With all this buzz about smart TVs, it was just a matter of time before hotels picked up the topic, discussed and predicted the end of system integrators and Pay TV. Smart TVs are arriving in earnest.

However, what most decision makers do not realize is that smart TVs are only as smart as the applications that are developed for them. The purchase of a smart TV also requires hoteliers to think about which applications they require and more specifically, which applications are best suited for the hotel environment.

As system integrators, we are working closely with the TV manufacturers  to develop application suites that fully leverage the capabilities of the TV and meet the needs of the hotel guests whilst at the same time providing hoteliers with a return on investment. In other words, it’s the applications that make the TV smart.

For example, Acentic launched our brand new CoreUI and due to its system architecture we were able to retro-fit over 500 hotels with this brand new Guest User Interface. The new CoreUI enables the hotel to choose from a variety of what we call "On-Screen Apps" which enable the hotel to offer a lot of new services beyond simple payTV and hotel information.

We at Acentic are focused on providing services that fall into two kinds of applications, the ones bringing the hotel services to guests and the neat little helper apps that allow guests to get flight information, find out about the weather at their next stop, or simply order a sandwich. Both types of applications are needed for a truly smart TV environment and need to be integrated within a wider interactive strategy that also entertains guests and provides the property with a return on investment today but also tomorrow.

Today’s technology is rapidly evolving and the software applications that make devices smart are evolving even faster. In such an environment a system integrator  that can deliver the latest smart technology but also ensure that your platform is upgraded through the years is key for both the property, the property's finance director and impotantly the guests.

Online transactions have gone up over the last decade; of that, there is no doubt. Consumer behaviour has changed dramatically, a change seen in online shopping and with online reservations. With the help of today’s savvy technology—iPhones, smartphones, tablets and laptops—online shopping has gone from a trend to a ubiquitous part of the consumer landscape. We are so used to online purchases that a 2010 Social Shopping US Study (seen here) found that 80% of the survey participants strongly preferred to do their own research and shopping online rather than speak to a knowledgeable sales associate in-store.
 
So why shouldn’t such purchase methods be an option in hotels? Wouldn’t it save guests time, money and unnecessary stress? After all, in the current hospitality market, smart hotel in-room technology is just as important as a comfortable bed—travellers are no different than the average consumer. And, in-room TVs and interfaces have developed so much that they are able to adapt to numerous features, so the technology is certainly there.

Acentic’s latest reservation and ordering on-screen app embraces the technology of today. With the new intuitive Guest User Interface, hotel guests will be able to operate multiple reservations and orders for several hotel facilities and external facilities. From the hotel TV, they will be able to order room service, laundry service, restaurant bookings and more. They will then receive direct confirmation messages or further information regarding their orders and reservations, completing the communication. Let’s start communicating with guests, while offering them the familiar ease of online-shopping via the hotel in-room TV.

Ready to order? Press OK!

Last week was a source of considerable domestic disturbance as I stayed glued to the TV screen at home to watch some of the six Nation’s Rugby games. And the situation didn’t improve after France lost to England in what we call “Le big crunch” and indeed it was a bruising affair which cost me a fortune in bets. Let’s not get into why France should have won that game or a number of you will be calling me a bad loser (rightly so I admit). What was interesting was the run up to the game and how the overall experience was shared whilst being on my own in front of the TV (my wife having stormed out mumbling something about Rugby being a barbarians sport). The whole event started way before kick off time with numerous Facebook messages, tweets and other social media exchanges, it continued throughout the match with exchanges between myself and rugby fanatics dotted around the globe. It was also accompanied by the downloading of a gaming application and a rather amusing mobile phone rugby game and database. Ultimately the mobile device became an essential element of my TV experience making me interact with numerous people and through the downloaded applications now following me permanently even though the game is long finished (and for me forgotten!). The interesting fact here is that mobile applications are not replacing the TV viewing experience but enriching via great synergies. Acentic’s mobile application suite will shortly bring guests new interactive experiences that should not only enrich their stay but also extend it beyond their check out.

Targeted advertising technologies provide a unique opportunity for hoteliers to have multiple revenue touch points with a very desirable audience at times when they are most receptive. Hotels are not yet taking full advantage of these advertising opportunities but now they can. Hotels wishing to benefit from this new media need a reliable platform that also allows them to maintain control over the type and frequency of advertising shown. Acentic Media, launched today, is such a platform. It enables hotels to offer an integrated package of media options to advertisers through the guest information channels on the TV where video, animation and graphic content can be displayed. Brands can also engage with guests via the hotel's Wi-Fi offering and through sponsorship of the in-room movie guide. The options are all measureable providing a truly accountable opportunity. Moreover, optimised multiple bundle offerings help promote the true convergence across all the devices modern guests use (television, laptop, iPad, or smart phone).

Hotels can offer advertisers cost-effective targeting of their customers in a truly specialised way. Imagine having guaranteed exposure to all guests, with time sensitive messaging and remote update capability, as well as offering an adaptable multimedia hub able to utilise existing marketing materials. Being able to offer truly scalable options also gives advertisers the ability to test market in a controlled environment. All of this can be achieved with a targeted advertising platform.

Without a doubt Acentic media will provide hotels with incremental media earnings possibilities and will leave their customers with a richer experience.

Imagine sitting in a hotel bar and buying a movie and Internet bundle on your iPhone so you can access the hotel’s WiFi. When you’ve finished your drink, head upstairs to your room and watch the movie you purchased on your television. At the same time, you can access the Internet on both your laptop and iPhone, without paying twice.

Up until now, the hotel industry has lacked true convergence between the TV user interface experience and the interface used for high speed Internet access. Hotels need to embrace this new approach where guests can pay for the Internet, surf the web, buy movie bundles and utilize guest services on screens across all platforms, such as the television, laptop, iPad and smart phone.

The challenge for hoteliers is to create the same look and feel across the board so that hotel branding is consistent on the “purchase page” of all platforms. Once the hotel masters that (done easily with Acentic’s Core GUI cross-platform approach), they can also cross-merchandise. This is a huge step forward to build new revenue streams. On the log-in pages where movies are advertised, hotels can now upsell with incentives to buy the full bundle package for use on all devices.
 
Acentic’s Core GUI also allows the guest to access the Internet from two devices. For example, as mentioned above, someone with a laptop and iPhone can access the Internet on both devices, but pay only once regardless of where they are in the hotel – their room, the bar or restaurant, lobby or other public areas.
 
Acentic is offering this convergence now as a chance to boost revenue. In hotels that have launched the Acentic Core GUI together with Acentic Horizon high-speed Internet solution, the overall revenue has increased by an average of 41 percent compared to the previous year. This innovation is making the hotel stay much easier and more satisfying for guests. In addition to the direct revenue increases, these new products and features are driving a major impact on GSTS (guest satisfaction).

Let’s give guests a more enjoyable stay and less headaches while making money on more bundles purchased!

As additional content sources, viewing devices and delivery methods are introduced and quickly adopted by consumers, the various players along the chain must come up with flexible and creative solutions to answer market demands. Content is no longer consumed within the defined borders of the PayTV ecosystem, but via a wide variety of platforms and systems. Soon enough, these new trends will infiltrate and spread from the household to the hotel entertainment industry.

For 2011, we at Acentic have chosen to reflect upon a few New Year resolutions for the in-room entertainment industry, aiming to enhance service offering and entertainment experience for hotel guests.

Reviewing the numerous means by which content is delivered and retrieved by consumers, we find a few common factors that would leverage this experience regardless of content source, or viewing device:

• Ensure service continuity – deliver a consistent high quality of content, no matter which device or content source is utilized. One of the most important factors of user satisfaction from the in-room entertainment provided is the variety and quality of content served.   
• Provide rich and relevant functionality – enable guests to do as much as possible through the in-room system, and enrich this offering with relevant targeted local content. This can be achieved via integrating Digital TV services with targeted banners and promotions for local businesses, restaurants and cultural events.
• Offer intuitive interface – As families, business travelers and other guests frequent your hotel, they do not need to be burdened with learning how to operate the entertainment system from scratch each time. Middleware/UI providers need to ensure that the graphic and textual language used is intuitive and fun. Most guests arriving to their hotel room are either on vacation, or right after their work day has ended. Offer them the luxury to relax and enjoy entertainment.

As a leading supplier of digital interactive TV (iTV) and broadband systems for the hotel industry, we constantly seek and explore entertainment trends, to provide the most functional and engaging experience for hotel guests, while at the same time enable lucrative opportunities for hotel owners. Market trends are not necessarily specific to the hotel industry, and we therefore continuously look at the Digital TV and new media markets to learn and identify consumer trends and introduce them to our industry.

There was a recent article in PC Magazine that had hoteliers talking about investments they are making to  bring more high tech gadgetry to hotel guestrooms, despite the tough economy. The hoteliers, such as said Page Petry, Marriott's senior vice president of information resources, talked about wanting to give guests access to all the newest in technology, such as IPTV, iPod connectivity, the iPad, and smartphone applications to make it easy to connect in the hotel room and to go way beyond the basic wireless service.

Acentic understands this demand more than most since we are constantly talking to hoteliers about how they can get closer to their guests. With our recent launch of Panorama IP, our customers can now be running converged services like TV, HSIA and VoIP over the same network. The goal is to provide hotel chains with a holistic platform line-up suited to their chosen physical network architecture. The key element here is the potential for cross marketing so it’s important to have a consistent user experience across all hotel locations no matter which network is installed in each hotel.

Most converged service operators only end up converging on your bill with the different services run as separate entities and often managed by different departments. Convergence is much more than a unique bill. Acentic is introducing content promotion on its broadband platform with the objective to drive take up and revenue of iTV services, as well as differentiate its broadband offering. The same will apply with mobile technology moving forward. Each appliance or device should not be seen as a separate content platform but rather as part of a global content strategy driving usage of all services on all devices. The ability to extend, for example, a TV content program with additional applications on the mobile device can significantly increase the life span of a TV content program beyond the simple living room experience.

We recognize that it is also extremely important to remember that the TV is not the PC and we have to keep it simple. Past experience has proven that on-screen interactivity is successful only when the interactive content is relevant to the broadcast program being watched. Stand-alone interactivity with no correlation to the TV viewing experience just doesn’t lead to high take up rates. The implications of this are that interactivity must start from the outset of the creation of a TV program and be seen as a seamless extension. Therefore the majority of TV based Internet content will not be the Internet content we know today but new developments from the TV content world.

The TV remains a passive viewing device and as such, the interactive services and applications must remain as simple and as relevant as possible and be seen as a enhancement to the original passive experience. Program creators will have to adopt new skill sets to fully understand, develop and leverage web-based content. The use of social media may very much act as a tool to generate a following around a program, event and slowly migrate the TV experience away from the individual passive experience to a more sociable environment.

(As posted in videonet, the official IBC blog: http://v-net.tv/Blog.aspx?id=479)

We’ve recently partnered with Filmbank in a promotion to brand hotel key cards, TV banners, trailers, turndown cards, and meal-deal promotions with artwork from new movies that are available on digital TV within the hotel.  One example is our work with UK Marriott, where we distributed 10,000 key cards in February branded with artwork from the film, Sherlock Holmes.  We chose to measure this promotion closely to show hoteliers the benefits and increase revenue that PayTV can bring to their hotels.
The results from the promotion were huge! Guests with the Sherlock Holmes (or Angels & Demons) card were much more likely to spend more on PayTV in-room movies than those guests without the branded key card. Many guests liked the key cards so much they saved them as a collector item, which might entice them to book other hotel rooms to extend their collection of key cards branded with different movies on them. The key card promotion assisted in increased sales with 93% higher revenue in the hotels carrying the promotion. Not only did the films that were promoted have increased sales in the hotel room, but there was an increased awareness among guests for the concept of film offerings as a whole. 
Acentic is very proud to have been a part of this promotion with Filmbank and looks forward to participating in further promotions of this kind. Acentic works with Filmbank often, as it is responsible for providing the widest range of movies to hotels in 10-12 weeks after the cinema release.
I see many opportunities for Acentic and Filmbank to work together to reach better revenue generating PayTV plans for hotels, allowing hoteliers to make the most of Hollywood and reach hotel guests’ high expectations.

Acentic prides itself on bringing the latest blockbusters to guests as rapidly as possible after their cinematographic release. Usually the studios release content to the hotel industry just after it’s been released in cinemas and to the airline industry, and of course, many months before the DVD release or consumer PayTV service offerings. For frequent long distance travelers its often frustrating to only find movies in hotels that they watched for “free” (everything has a price somewhere) on  the plane. Whilst the experience is obviously not the same- the bed or armchair is much more comfortable than the average airline seat and a LCD screen brings a much better viewing experience- many travelers have been content with watching the latest in-flight movie and found the hotel offering lackluster.

This is however evolving, yesterday (or is it today- I guess it depends on which time zone I base myself on) I found myself on a 12 hour flight during which I ate, drank and after the laptop battery failed (not before I hasten to add) I turned to the excellent in-flight entertainment system. I selected a very recent fast-paced action movie (the kind that I would never watch at home because of differing movie tastes with my wife), and sat back and enjoyed it. Stunning scenery and breath-taking action shots were all slightly let down by watching it on a 14 inch screen and my neighbor snoring. I left the plane with a slight backache and having noted the title as a future blue ray acquisition and checked into my hotel. To my surprise this major movie promotion was the very same title as the one I saw on my flight- and in addition it was available in HD on the 37 inch LCD. So not only are we at Acentic immediately getting the latest movies into hotels through our always on satellite upload, we are also now delivering on our Panorama HD platform the latest HD movies with stunning picture quality. I now know what I will be watching this evening in HD to ward off jetlag. And by the way I would never have got around to watching that blue ray at home…

In a recent chat with Alistair Forbes, Acentic’s former CEO, we got talking about differences between mainstream digital TV services for the public at large and those in Hotel TV systems.
I realised during our chat that hospitality has surmounted some specific challenges that could teach a lesson or two to mainstream TV services.
Since then, I’ve been browsing through Acentic’s blog and come to realise that hospitality TV also has some key advantages over mainstream TV. In fact, when I add them up, there’s actually more things that are real challenges for mainstream IPTV and much easier to achieve in a hospitality environment.
Foremost amongst these is the ability to deliver a predictable quality of experience or ‘QoE’. The technical service delivery is facilitated in particular by the in-room networking, which is for example fully known in a hotel, contrary to home networks. I’m not saying it’s easy, just that it is manageable or at least predictable.
On the content side, hotel IPTV has some key advantages too with access to premium content well before it is available in people’s homes. Also on the content side, hotels usually cater for short stays and can offer a much-reduced line-up of on demand content, concentrating on blockbuster and adult where appropriate. The VoD navigation / recommendation issue may still be hard to solve, but at least it is solvable contrary to mainstream TV services that are currently totally lost on this issue. Many recommendation platforms are vying for position but none have yet provided a convincing solution to the VoD problem on the sitting room TV. The best efforts seen so far, in the mainstream area, are from the likes of Comcast or Roku and are more based on a slick graphical representation of the content than recommendation itself. Netflix is the movie recommendation standard by which others measure themselves but isn’t really a TV service, yet.
So much for what a mainstream TV consultant like myself could contribute to hospitality TV. But what are some of the lessons I could I try to learn to bring back to my mainstream customers?
Hospitality TV services have faced two obstacles that none of today’s mainstream TV service could defeat. Both are linked to the user.
First, there is the 15-second factor I mentioned in a recent Videonet blog. A hotel visitor will devote about that length of time to the room’s TV set initially. If she gets the feeling that there is something worthwhile there, she might explore a bit more, but rewards must always come in seconds.
This brings us a fundamental issue in user interface design. When I was a software developer back in the 9O’s, the graphical user interface design would phase would start with a look at whether the intended user base would be made up of casual-users or power-users. A casual-user, like a hotel guest, has very little time to invest in learning the way around an interface, whereas a power-user typically uses the interface for hours at a time and is more interested in shortcuts than user friendliness. In trying to resolve this conundrum we often went too far to one extreme. Even power users want some friendliness and even newbies need a bit of power…
Hospitality TV vendors that serve both Hotel and Hospitals will be aware of this issue as they serve the two extreme cases: people who still have their coat on as they flick through the TV menu wondering whether to go out and bed-ridden patients that have all day to understand where to find the service they want.
The second domain where hospitality TV has a lot to teach is in serving a user base that is a fast moving target. Hotels have guests from all countries of the world. Language is the most obvious issue, but other subtler aspects can be harder to capture like respecting the Sabbath, hiding adult content or showing the weather of a visitor’s hometown. Channels are often available in the hundreds and VoD content in the thousands.

I hope one day my work will take me into the hospitality sector to have this exchange. I’m sure there’s a lot more we have to share than what I mention here. In the meantime there is a clear challenge ahead for both mainstream and hospitality TV: a meaningful integration of Over-The-Top content so that the Web enriches the TV experience without jeopardising its business model.

Ben Schwarz publishes on Videonet News (www.v-net.tv) and on his own blog http://www.ctoic.net