In-room technology trends and their implications for enhancing guest experiences and revenue

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a benchmark for hotel operators to understand in-room technology trends and the impact of in-room technology on business performance. Design/methodology/approach – The survey questions are based on existing literature and suggestions from the American Hotel and Lodging Association Technology and E-commerce Committee. The authors collected 206 usable samples from managers, vice presidents, presidents, owners and executives from hotel companies and utilized cross-tab analysis and multiple regression analysis. Findings – The results demonstrate that installing specific in-room technologies can have a significant effect on enhancing the customer experience and increasing revenue. The study also presents the most commonly installed in-room technologies those hoteliers plan to install in the near future. Research limitations/implications – Proper strategies are recommended to help hospitality managers understand the impact of different in-room technologies on the hospitality industry; particularly as they relate to guest experience and profitability. Originality/value – By identifying the most popular in-room technologies currently available and examining which in-room technologies can be effective at enhancing guest experience and increasing revenue, this study fills the gap between the findings of previous studies and the observations from industry practitioners.