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By their nature, hotels are a place for people who are new to a location or who are just visiting for a short time. Accordingly, these people are often in search of information. They are unsure where to go and what to do while they are at the hotel. Hotel digital signage can be a useful medium in such environments, as it provides an easy and accessible way for hotel guests and visitors to access relevant information. In this post, we will discuss how you can get started with hotel digital signage as well as several ideas on how you can use hotel digital signage to serve your guests.
What do you need for a hotel digital signage display?
Hotel digital signage displays come in a variety of shapes and sizes. However, they each require several of the same components. Below, we’ll discuss each of these components and how they are essential for your hotel displays.
First, a hotel digital signage display is going to need a digital signage player. A digital signage player is a small, physical device that processes your digital content and renders it to your hotel display. When choosing a digital signage player, be careful not to select a device that is more powerful than you need. To display image, video, and even live web pages in 1080p Full HD resolution, you do not have to break the bank. A simple Raspberry Pi digital signage player will allow you to do everything you need. By choosing the right digital signage player for your needs, you’ll be able to save on upfront purchasing costs as well as on ongoing digital signage electricity costs. Additionally, at the end of your digital signage player’s lifecycle, you’ll produce less electronic waste.
Next, you’ll need digital signage software. This software allows you to manage your digital signage content easily. With digital signage software, you can organize content into playlists and schedule this content to play at predetermined times. Additionally, you can schedule content for one screen or a group of screens, all in just a few clicks. Before digital signage software, many hotels managed digital signs with USB drives. To upload new content, an employee would have to physically visit the digital sign and manually upload new content by plugging in the USB drive to the digital display. This process was extremely time consuming and costly in terms of employee hours, especially when the hotel had multiple digital signs across the property. With modern digital signage software, employees can now manage the content on all of their company’s digital signs from the comfort of their office desk.
Lastly, digital signage hotel solutions require a digital display screen, of course. For a display screen, you can use a large computer monitor or a TV screen. Note that this display screen doesn’t have to cost thousands of dollars, and a flat-screen TV display from your local electronics store will be all you need. Just make sure that your digital display accepts HDMI input and can display at least 1080p HD resolution. Today, almost every digital display fits these requirements.
What can you do with hospitality digital signage?
Once you have your hotel digital signage displays up and running, you’ll need to populate each hotel display screen with content that is useful and engaging for your hotel guests and visitors. Read below for some ideas on how to get the most out of your hospitality digital signage.
First, digital displays work great as hotel lobby digital signage. Lobbies are the central passageway for a hotel, and thus, they are an excellent location for a hotel digital sign. In a hotel lobby, digital signs can display information on upcoming events at the hotel and information on hotel amenities such as fitness classes and restaurant specials. Lobby digital signs can also display more logistical information, such as notices for hotel construction or information on room service hours. Lobby digital signs look great near entrances, seating areas, or even behind the front desk.
Second, another use case for hotel digital signage is internally displaying KPI metrics to the hotel management staff. With hotel digital signage, management can display hospitality industry business metrics such as average daily rate, revenue per available room, and customer satisfaction ratings. Keeping this data easily viewable on a digital sign can help focus and motivate a hotel’s entire staff.
Another use case for hotel digital signage is advertising in hotel lobbies. Given the exposure to area visitors, hotel digital signage can be an effective advertising medium for tour companies and local restaurants. Hotel guests are always looking for something to do, and they are the perfect captive audience for many local business ads. Advertisers or the hotel itself can sell screen time to local businesses, and this activity can become a significant revenue stream. Check out our article on how to set up a digital signage advertising network for more information.
What’s the first step to launch a hospitality digital signage solution?
To launch your first hotel digital sign, begin by signing up for an online digital signage software account. This account will allow you to manage your hotel digital signage from anywhere using your laptop. Next, order your first digital signage player. Note that you will need one digital signage player per hotel display screen. You can order your digital signage players on Amazon. Also, check out our self-build digital signage player option.
Once your hotel display screen is up and running, be sure to populate your digital sign with great content. Note that content doesn’t have to be time-consuming or costly to produce. For starters, you can get content up quickly by displaying Google Slides on your digital sign. Also, know that there are a ton of excellent stock image sites for digital signage, and many of these stock image sites are entirely free. Additionally, if you’re interested in doing video content (which we recommend), there are a ton of useful video editing tools for digital signage. When planning your first month of digital signage content, remember to keep content focused on the customer and what is interesting to them. That may sound like an obvious point; however, many people often forget it!
If you have any questions on hotel digital signage solutions, feel free to reach out to Screenly Support. We’re always happy to help new and existing customers with their digital signage needs.
