Nowadays, hotel guests no longer see Wi-Fi as a perk, but as a must-have, from the very first moment they check in. They travel with their favorite personal devices such as phones, tablets, and laptops, making secure, fast, and reliable Wi-Fi one of the fundamental features they’ve come to expect from their hotel experience.

Whether they’re making a short stay, or attending an event at the Hotel, guests expect to be able to connect to the internet seamlessly and without too many interruptions, leading hotels to invest in better, faster, and more secure Wi-Fi infrastructure so that people can do business and use their technology devices with ease.

There is honestly nothing you can’t do with on your smartphone these days – and powering mobile features in your hotel room is no exception. Think of it this way, we’re now living in a time when people prefer to type than chat, they share their travel experience, good or bad, and they expect to be able to discover more about their travel destination, all from their smartphone.

Hotels and resorts are quickly understanding the potential that hotel related smartphone apps offer, and are putting the power in the palm of guests’ hands to enable them to control their experience from the moment they check in, with everything from room service to in-room controls.

Do you remember when people were happy with a limited set of on-demand movies that they could purchase on the TV in their hotel room? Neither do we, because those days are gone. Consumption of TV entertainment content has changed: Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, Hulu, HBO and Spotify, just to name a few popular streaming services, are here to stay.

According to a Smith Micro Software trend report entitled The Future of Hotel In-Room Entertainment; people are increasingly plugging in their own devices for in-room entertainment. Travelers are increasingly using their own technology to keep themselves entertained. An earlier survey by Smith Micro Software showed that 81% of respondents wanted access to mobile video content at hotels and 55% said that mobile content availability at a hotel would influence where they choose to stay.

Personalized hotel technology experiences will become increasingly important, not only for operating efficiency but also attracting guests and keeping hotel rating scores high. This is especially relevant to the millennial generation of travelers. Hoteliers should take note that this ever-increasing tech-savvy travel segment is not only willing to spend money on personalized travel experiences, but will also come to expect integrated smart controls in their hotel visits.