Do we still need TVs in hotel rooms? These properties don’t think so

Most of us would agree that in 2023, finding a TV in your hotel room is a pretty safe guess. Whether it’s a one-star motel or a five star resorta flat screen is virtually guaranteed.

But are things changing? With the rise of streaming services and a growing variety of mobile devices from which users can watch what they want, where they want, are living room mainstays as essential to travelers as they once were?

Hotels and resorts are moving away from big screens

Many hoteliers question the relevance of televisions in an increasingly technical age, including Samir Hammam, owner of Wadi Sabarah Lodge in Marsa Alam, Egypt.

“We designed the hotel to take you away from the world you’re used to and immerse yourself as much as possible in the Eastern Desert and the Red Sea,” he explains. “Your ‘TV’ here is the view of the sea and the landscapes from our balconies and the restaurant. Why fly to Egypt to do what you do at home?

He is not alone in his thinking. At Lake Como, each suite at Villa Làrio offers a direct view of the lake. When it opened in 2014, it was decided not to include televisions. According to Flore Pilzer, the property’s brand manager, the owners “would much prefer that guests enjoy the breathtaking view from their room.”

Within the grounds of the Palace of Versailles, Le Grand Contrôle is a 13-room hotel housed in a nearly 350-year-old building built by Louis XIV’s favorite architect, Jules Hardouin-Mansart. When it opened two years ago, the team decided to omit the TVs so the rooms would stay in keeping with the property’s 18th-century theme.

Removing TVs from hotel rooms isn’t easy

Whether or not to include iconic technology isn’t always a simple decision. For Samir, it is a matter of government involvement. In Egypt, hotel licenses come with certain stipulations. If a property is classified as an eco-lodge, no televisions are required, but if it is a star hotel, televisions of a certain description are mandatory.

Samir doesn’t see Wadi Sabarah Lodge in any of these categories (“We are a bit of everything”) and has been working with the Ministry of Tourism since its opening in July 2022 to find the best way forward.

“The ministry is flexible, but like any big bureaucracy, it takes time to get your point across,” he says. “I added a TV room despite the fact that our customers don’t want it. I explained that I wasn’t saving money because the single 83 inch TV was more expensive than the 32 TVs they wanted us to put in the bedrooms.

Although the plan seems to have facilitated the negotiations, Samir explains that the customers don’t really like it and that the TV room is not yet used very regularly.

In Paddington, central London, The Pilgrm founder Jason Catifeoglou debated with business partners whether or not to include TVs in hotel rooms.

For him, the heart of the property was sustainability. His passion is finding disused properties, then restoring them and converting them into hotels using as many recycled and found materials as possible. The property does not have double glazing or air conditioning; the former to avoid disturbing the building’s original window frames and the latter to minimize energy expenditure.

In the end, Jason opted to include televisions in all but three of the smaller rooms. For him, it was too great a risk not to have them, even if it is a question still very present in his mind for future openings.

Are hotel guests missing television?

Many hotels now offer free Wi-Fi in the room (although many still only offer free Wi-Fi in public areas), so you have plenty of room to watch content from the comfort of your room without television.

However, hoteliers’ observations of guest behavior suggest that content consumption is not as common as one might think.

Flore Pilzer of Villa Làrio explains: “We see most customers take books and leave their phones and tablets behind. Many of our customers don’t even notice [the lack of TVs].” In ten years, the hotel has only received two requests to bring televisions into its rooms.

At Wadi Sabarah Lodge, Hammam repeats that there have been no complaints about the lack of TVs. Indeed, when he talks to guests about it, most of the answers tell him to keep the rooms as they are. However, it is common to see guests streaming content around the hotel.

Some properties without TVs put them on standby in case guests request them, such as the Bequia Beach Hotel in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Phillip Morstedt, property manager, says. “The overwhelming majority [of guests] don’t even realize [there are no TVs] and the few who want one (for example families or to watch a movie) can have one delivered by customer services.”

The lack of flat screens apparently even improves their customers’ stays, as Morstedt is “often praised by couples as it improves social interaction and they incorporate it as part of their holiday”.

How would removing the televisions affect the design of the hotel?

If TVs start to phase out, there will likely be a ripple effect for room design and interior fittings.

Artem Kropovinsky, designer and founder of Arsight, an interior design firm based in New York, says that “For decades, the layout of rooms in homes and hotels has been dictated by the placement of television , but as technology becomes more individualized and mobile, the days of the whole family or group of friends gathered around a television screen are shrinking.

He’s seen it firsthand with his clients. “There is a palpable shift in priorities,” he says. “While there are still a significant number of people who prefer television as their focal point, many are now looking for alternative focal points. It can range from a beautiful fireplace to a piece of art or even a stunning view out the window.

Brad Smith, CEO and lead interior designer at Omni Home Ideas, has also seen a shift in focus, with many of his clients expressing “they don’t want their living room to be dominated by a TV anymore.” Instead, they favor “flexible layouts, where the emphasis is on social interaction, aesthetics, or even a nice view outside. For those who still want a TV, hidden installations like motorized lifts or cabinets are popular, allowing the TV to disappear when not in use.

What future for hotel room televisions?

Hotel rooms without televisions were not born from the emergence of wellness centers and smartphones. In 1950, when the Jamaica Inn, Jamaica opened, televisions were conspicuously absent — a bold choice for a hotel synonymous with one of the greatest film franchises of all time: James Bond.

The owner of the establishment, Eric Morrow, says that customers have all the entertainment they need outside. “The ultimate high definition experience awaits when you open your door and gaze across the beach at the multicolored blues of the early morning Caribbean Sea.” However, for those looking for a cinematic thrill, the hotel offers “Bond on the Beach,” a weekly showing of a 007 film on a giant screen. Customers can watch and listen with Bluetooth headphones and popcorn.

Whether hotel room TVs will lose popularity in the hospitality industry remains to be seen. They provide services beyond local (or global) viewing channels. They are often a near-permanent source of publicity for the hotel brand and are frequently used to provide resort information to guests. Additionally, different destinations and markets have different customer demographics and varying service priorities, many of which will require in-room televisions.

However, with the continued evolution of portable content devices, the importance and role of hotel television will change over the next few decades. We will monitor this space.