Memories that Matter: Hotels Revolutionize the Guest Experience with Digital Signage

Introduction to Hospitality Digital Signage

Hospitality digital signage refers to the innovative use of digital displays in hotels, restaurants, and other hospitality establishments to communicate with guests and elevate their overall experience. These digital signage solutions are designed to provide guests with relevant and timely information, such as menus, events, and promotions, in a visually appealing and engaging manner.

Hotel digital signage can be strategically placed in various locations throughout the property, including lobbies, restaurants, and guest rooms to maximize its impact. By showcasing local attractions, services, and amenities, digital signage not only enhances guest satisfaction but also fosters loyalty by creating memorable experiences.

How Hotels Revolutionize the Guest Experience with Digital Signage

The primary goal of hospitality digital signage is to create a great guest experience by providing timely and relevant information. This, in turn, can lead to increased revenue through targeted promotions and advertising. Digital signage solutions can be seamlessly integrated with other hotel systems, such as property management systems and point-of-sale systems, to offer a personalized and cohesive experience for guests. Additionally, digital signage can reduce desk inquiries by displaying frequently asked questions and other useful information, streamlining communication and improving efficiency.

Moreover, digital signage can be used to inform guests about essential hotel services, such as check-in and check-out times and special offers. By leveraging digital signage, hotels can reduce printing costs and minimize waste, while also providing a more engaging and interactive experience for their guests.

Benefits of Digital Signage Solutions

Digital signage solutions offer a multitude of benefits for hotels, ranging from increased guest satisfaction to enhanced revenue streams. One of the key advantages is the ability to promote hotel services and amenities, such as restaurants, spas, and fitness centers, thereby driving sales and boosting revenue.

Digital menu boards, for instance, can showcase food and beverage options in a dynamic and visually appealing way, reducing wait times and improving the overall dining experience. Additionally, digital signage can provide guests with valuable information about local attractions and events, encouraging them to explore the surrounding area and enhancing their overall stay.

Digital Menu Boards at Hilton Hotel

By using digital signage, hotels can create a more personalized and engaging experience for their guests, which in turn increases loyalty and drives return visits. Digital signage solutions can also be used to inform guests about hotel policies and procedures, such as check-in and check-out times, and to provide important announcements and updates.

Furthermore, the use of digital signage can help hotels reduce their environmental impact by minimizing the need for printed materials and reducing waste. Overall, digital signage solutions offer a range of benefits for hotels, from improved communication and increased revenue to enhanced guest satisfaction and loyalty.

For hotels, the guest experience really is everything.

And as the sector becomes more and more competitive—and as guests increasingly influence others by talking about their experiences through review sites and social media—properties must take every opportunity possible to deliver exceptional levels of guest experience for repeat and new visits and positive reviews. Hotel staff play a crucial role in this by providing recommendations for local services, restaurants, and events, significantly enhancing the overall guest experience.

Delivering an exceptional guest experience creates memories that matter long after check-out. We’ve all been there. We’ve been to a hotel or resort where we had a great time, where the staff was friendly and efficient, where we ate well, had fun, and the atmosphere was awesome—and as soon as we checked out, we wanted to go right back there! Not only that, but we also told our friends about it. Staff interactions can significantly improve guest satisfaction by fostering engagement and creating a dynamic atmosphere.

It’s the virtuous circle of hotel hospitality.

How to Drive Revenue Through Digital Signage

While a hotel’s people—everyone from high-profile front-of-house to rarely-seen kitchen or backroom staff—are pivotal at every point of that circle for the creation of an awesome guest experience and wonderful memories, technology is playing an increasingly significant role, as it is in almost every aspect of our lives.

And of the full technology menu available for hotels today to enhance what their people can deliver in a uniquely human way, digital signage is in a league of its own because of its immersive nature and the wide range of communication challenges it can solve.

This is important because a sector that is so enormous and growing so quickly—valued at just under five trillion U.S. dollars globally this year—needs every tool in its armory to give it an edge. One of the key tools for a positive guest experience is the personal touch and personalized messaging, which digital signage is ideal for.

We almost take it for granted today when we check into our hotel room that there’s a personalized greeting on the guest-room TV. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg—the hospitality industry thrives on creating multi-layered lasting memories for guests. From the moment they step into the lobby to the time they check out; every detail contributes to the overall experience.

But in an age where travelers are bombarded with information and seek personalized experiences, traditional methods of hotel communication are no longer enough. This is where digital signage emerges as a game-changer, transforming the guest experience by delivering dynamic, interactive content that informs, entertains, and creates lasting positive impressions. Yes, it’s the memories that matter.

Digital Reader board - Hilton

Before we dig deeper into the ways digital signage can contribute to an exceptional guest experience, it should be noted that it can also play a significant role in delivering a great employee experience.

Indeed, few would argue that ensuring that you get your employee experience right is the essential first step to being able to deliver the type of guest experience you need to be successful in any customer-facing business, particularly in the hospitality industry.

At Poppulo, we’re keenly aware of this because we partner with some of the most successful global hospitality players, such as the Hilton chain of hotels, where digital signage plays a key role in delivering benchmark guest and employee experiences. But more on that later.

First, let’s delve into the essentials of hotel digital signage.

From First Impressions to Memories that Last

Even before check-in, strategically placed digital screens can help guests feel welcome as well as showcase the various amenities the hotel has to offer. From check-in until departure, digital signage can act as a 24-hour virtual concierge, readily providing all sorts of information about the hotel as well as local attractions. Touchscreen wayfinding conveniently guides guests to the right location within a property every time, enhancing their overall experience.

Beyond Announcements: A Platform for Engaging Content

There’s far more to digital signage than displaying static messages. Hotels can leverage digital signage to create a platform for engaging and visually captivating content that caters to a diverse guest base:

• Personalized Greetings: Leverage guest data to display personalized welcome messages or special offers, fostering a sense of connection and exclusivity.
• Interactive Wayfinding: Utilize interactive maps and touchscreens to help guests navigate the hotel complex effortlessly.
• Destination Inspiration: Inspire guests with captivating visuals and video walls that highlight the hotel’s amenities in a highly immersive way, as well as the city’s cultural attractions and historical landmarks.
• Local Recommendations: Showcase curated lists of nearby restaurants, bars and attractions, and hidden gems, allowing guests to explore the city like a local.
• Real-Time Information: Display flight schedules, weather updates, and local transportation options, empowering guests to plan their stay efficiently.
• Art and Entertainment: Transform lobby spaces into mini art galleries by displaying local artists’ work or curated photography exhibits. Additionally, digital displays can be used to entertain guests with live music feeds, sporting event updates, and more.

Digital signage can also display breaking news and local alerts, ensuring guests are informed about important updates.

Effective Content Management

Effective content management is crucial to the success of any digital signage solution, as it ensures that the right message is communicated to the right audience at the right time. Digital signage content can include a variety of elements, such as text, images, videos, and social media feeds, and can be used to promote hotel services and amenities, as well as local attractions and events.

Content management systems (CMS) play a vital role in creating, managing, and scheduling digital signage content, making it easy to update and change messaging as needed. Hotels can use digital signage to inform guests about upcoming events and promotions, and to provide important announcements and updates. Cloud-based digital signage solutions allow for easy management of content remotely, ensuring that updates can be made quickly and efficiently from any location.

Digital signage can also be used to showcase user-generated content, such as guest photos and reviews, creating a more engaging and interactive experience. By using a powerful CMS, hotels can easily manage and update their digital signage content, ensuring that it remains fresh and relevant to their audience.

Effective content management also involves monitoring and analyzing the performance of digital signage content to understand what is working and what is not. This allows hotels to make data-driven decisions about future content strategies. By using digital signage and effective content management, hotels can create a more engaging and personalized experience for their guests, driving loyalty and revenue.

Urgent Safety Messaging

Digital signage is also an almost peerless communication tool for hotels that need to get urgent messaging to guests quickly and clearly across what in many cases can be very large hospitality complexes. Digital signage is also an almost peerless communication tool for hotels that need to get urgent messaging to guests quickly and clearly across what in many cases can be very large hospitality complexes. Take, for example, the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort in Honolulu.

One of the largest hotels in the world, with 3,386 rooms spread over its 22-acre footprint, the complex also sits in a part of the world prone to tropical storms and other potential natural disasters, so the ability to urgently inform all guests of any danger is paramount.

This led Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort to deploy digital signage powered by Poppulo across the entire complex, underpinning its commitment to guest safety as an integral part of the customer experience.

Of course, in addition to guest safety, the resort’s extensive digital signage network also fulfills the many added benefits mentioned above.

Driving Event Bookings and Return on Investment

To highlight just how versatile digital signage is for hotels today, the Hilton chain’s complex in San Francisco’s Union Square illustrates how it can be leveraged to drive revenue as well as deliver a memorable guest experience.

The hotel initially deployed digital signage powered by Poppulo to help guests navigate its three towers at the Union Square complex. The signage network was extended to Hilton Union Square’s Parc 55 location.

Once the wayfinding challenge was solved for guests, the hotel successfully leveraged its digital signage network to further drive an important revenue stream: event bookings. You can read more about how this was accomplished here.

If you would like to find out more about how Poppulo digital signage can enable you to deliver exceptional guest experience and also drive revenue, we’d be delighted to help. Contact us here and we’ll be in touch!