Bringing New Energy With Hotel Digital Signage

If you imagined that your hotel was a smartphone application, then all the signs in your hotel would be like the buttons in that app. Each sign tells the user (or guest) where to go and what will happen when they get there. There is even a new discipline devoted to creating clear and efficient user experiences within apps: UX designer.

Now, think back to your actual hotel for a minute, where you print out sign cards or have plaques engraved or swappable letters. That’s almost as bad as a UX designer putting a physical sticky note on your phone when the function of a button changes — absurd!

Using digital signage in your hotel is an excellent way to create a more friendly, customizable, and accurate experience for your guests. Although large LED or LCD screens are common, there is a range of digital signage options, and you’ll likely need a mix of large and small screens to fully upgrade your hotel.

Printing out conference schedules and posting them to the correct rooms can be a pain, especially if you’re hosting multiple gatherings at the same time. Installing a screen at the entrance to each meeting room allows you to quickly update meeting schedules and even swap them if new arrangements need to be made. This could be as simple as an iPad in a stand or a touchscreen beside the door that hosts an array of information relevant to your guests.

Odds are that your guests may be from out of town and would like to be reminded of the forecast. A robust digital signage system can even allow you to display this information alongside other details.

Curating a great experience for your guests is a major part of what makes a hotel worth staying at in the first place. You can give people the inside scoop on all the shows and events happening in your area. And since local entertainment is always changing, you don’t have to worry about keeping accurate brochures around.

So you’re hosting a multi-day conference with hundreds, if not thousands of guests. What better way to welcome them than with a thoughtful greeting? This is even more important if you want to represent multiple languages.

Although most rooms in your hotel don’t change much from day to day, it’s a good idea to help guests find their way around as quickly as possible. Touchscreen signs make it easy to host the map of your building and reduce the burden on your staff to provide guidance during busy times.

Another thing that frequently changes is the food served in your hotel. Displaying the menu for your restaurant near the entrance to your hotel and then again near the restaurant itself is a great way to attract diners. It also makes it easy to swap out breakfast, lunch, dinner, and special event menus with a few clicks.

There’s obviously a lot for guests to learn and do while they’re visiting. Although personal concierge is a hallmark of a great hotel experience, a virtual concierge provides an extra layer of support and can help free your staff up to provide even better white-glove service when it matters most.

Walking maps, driving maps, nearby entertainment, shopping, and sightseeing — these are all great things to display on digital touchscreens. Most guests will use their smartphones at some level, but you never know when you’ll catch someone’s eye and lead them to a discovery that defines their entire stay.

User-generated content, especially using local hashtags, is a fantastic thing to display on digital signage, and it’s something that static signage can’t hold a candle to. People love the authenticity and color that pictures and reviews from other guests provide.

Pulling in data from relevant airports can be a massive boon to your guests. Nobody likes to miss a flight, and often in the hustle and bustle of coming or going, guests miss notifications that can cost them hours or even days.

Let’s call a spade a spade: you want to show off everything your hotel can offer, and static signage just doesn’t do it justice. That’s why digital signage is critical to making sure your guests get the best possible experience.

If you don’t currently use digital signage or it’s time to expand your digital sign repertoire, look for a partner who can integrate every device with your IT system and verify that you’re getting the maximum value out of your technology. I.e. Smart Systems has worked with the Post Oak Hotel, Houston’s only AAA Five-Diamond destination, to create a cutting-edge technology experience, including digital signage.

i.e.Smart Systems is a Houston, TX based technology integration partner that specializes in design and installation of audio/visual technology and structured cabling. For more than three decades, our team of in-house experts has partnered with business owners, architectural firms, general contractors, construction managers, real estate developers, and designers in the Houston market, to deliver reliable, scalable solutions that align with their unique goals.