Hotel Guest Engagement in the Age of BYOC: Bring Your Own Content
Hotels in the Age of BYOC:
Bring Your Own Content
It is an enduring need to stay connected with the world around us. This doesn’t change when you go on vacation. In fact, it probably even increases.
Over a quarter of mobile users own more than one mobile phone. People possessing smart devices means, they carry along their own content wherever they go. Over the past few years, mobile devices have flooded the market; as a result, the revenue generated from traditional hotel services such as paid WiFi and premium VOD content has considerably dropped. Instead of paying for services like pay-per-view, guests now have easy access to their own content. This has forced hoteliers to embrace the trend of Bring Your Own Content (BYOC) and change the way they do business.
LIMITING BANDWIDTH SPEED
One of the ways hotels generate more revenue per guest is by limiting their bandwidth speeds.
Some hotels offer low bandwidth WiFi for free and the high bandwidth WiFi for a premium. This way, they offer easy access to online content and at the same time, generate an effective revenue source by tempting guests to opt-in for higher speeds. The downside to this is obviously a less than optimal guest experience.
IMPLEMENTING BYOC
Today, we all carry around our favorite content and access to VOD directly on our mobile devices. Streaming our content directly to the room’s big screen has become a seamless service option. Primarily because, hoteliers need to provide their guests with a similar, comfortable and pleasurable streaming of content that they already get at home. Therefore, investment in Smart TV and Set-Top-Boxes have become a big deal in the hospitality sector.
SECURITY CONCERNS
A high percentage of individuals today are subscribed to at least one streaming service, and any guest at a hotel would like to continue availing that service, despite being away from home. But allowing guests to log in with their personal accounts comes with its own concerns regarding security concern that is succeeded with a series of complicated solutions. However, with many hotels already offering streaming apps on their smart TV’s, it appears that hotels have found a much more secure and personalized solution to their problems.
Viggo Smart Hotel, for example, helps hotels across the globe offer their guest simplified and modern services such as a Smart Stay App and Smart TV, powered by one centralized guest engagement platform.
With a rich blend of technology and services, Viggo aims to ensure that hotels live up to the customers growing demands.
WHAT NEEDS TO PRESENT
Guests are bringing their own content, and hotels have the opportunity to monetize the situation via WiFi, access to premium content, and relevant local offers for their guests. Additionally, if hoteliers want to successfully implement a BYOC strategy via in-room smart TV’s, they have to consider the following aspects-
- Device-agnostic that allows any mobile device to connect
- White-label options or co-branding
- Back-end management for secure and comfortable viewing
- Streamlined user experience offering single-button connection
Some hotels have understood the technological relevance and implemented the same in their services but mostly end up confusing and complicating the simplest tasks such as switching off the lights or calling room service. Hotels need to understand that investment in technology is solely for simplifying the services and not complicating it.
The bottom line is simple; people expect their hotel stay to match the comforts of their homes, and that is where hotels must direct their attention.
