In-room entertainment is a key feature of the hotel guest experience. Yet many travelers know the frustration of flipping through dozens of hotel room TV channels only to find nothing they want to watch. In fact, many guests no longer turn them on at all, preferring to consume media on personal devices.
That’s why leading hotels are moving away from traditional televisions and upgrading to smart hospitality TVs (HTVs) that support streaming services, app integrations and internet connectivity. This includes integrating popular over-the-top (OTT) apps — Netflix, Hulu, Disney+ and others — which fundamentally changes how guests interact with in-room entertainment.
These solutions enhance the guest experience and hotel brand image while simplifying operations and lowering cost. Here’s how.
OTT apps and casting modernize brand image
Legacy hotel TVs face stiff competition from guests’ personal devices, especially when room displays only offer basic cable and pay-per-view options. In fact, this may make a brand feel dated and out of touch with modern guest expectations and needs. By contrast, offering familiar streaming apps and subscription services projects a modern, innovative image.
This isn’t just anecdotal. In the J.D. Power 2025 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index, 40% of guests said a smart TV or the ability to stream content is a “need-to-have” amenity, and 60% said they use a smart TV during their stay.
Today’s leading HTVs, such as Samsung HU8000F Smart Hospitality TV and Samsung HU7010F Smart Hospitality TV, integrate popular OTT apps. Furthermore, they come with casting capabilities that let guests stream content from their own devices on the TV. With these Samsung HTVs, the experience rivals what guests have at home, thanks to larger screens, higher resolutions and better color accuracy.
OTT apps and casting also eliminate rigid TV schedules, giving guests the freedom to watch what they want, when they want. This familiarity adds comfort and convenience, particularly for frequent and long-term travelers. It also transforms the perception of the brand from one that gives them more than what they have at home, not less.
What to consider when choosing the right HTV for your brand
Upgrading to OTT-enabled HTVs requires thoughtful consideration of several factors, especially:
- Cost: Establish a clear budget that includes hardware, connectivity and long-term operational savings. Incorporate the potential ROI into the calculation, as Samsung HTVs enable in-room promotion of hotel services, such as spa treatments and food delivery, which can offset investment costs. This revenue might be boosted further by partner advertisers.
- Infrastructure: Streaming at scale requires reliable, high-bandwidth Wi-Fi. Without it, guests could experience buffering, lag and audio sync issues that may tarnish the brand reputation in their eyes.
- Integration: Installing HTVs goes beyond simply setting them up in individual guest rooms. They have to also seamlessly connect and operate within the existing property management system.
- Security: Guests must be able to log into personal streaming accounts with confidence. Robust data protection and staff familiarity with it is essential.
- Scalability: HTVs should be able to constantly evolve and scale as opportunities arise. That may include the promotion of new hotel services and features like mobile check-in, personalized greetings, digital payments and new OTT apps.
The high performance of Samsung HTVs in all these areas explains why they are widely used across branded hotel properties.
How Samsung raises the HTV bar
Samsung’s hospitality TV portfolio is designed to scale across property types and budgets, allowing hotels to standardize on a single platform while tailoring in-room entertainment by room type or brand.
In the set-top-box department is Samsung HU6000F Non-Smart Hospitality TV, which comes in five sizes between 43 and 65 inches. Its Crystal Processor UHD and 4K upscaling bring out true colors and deliver high resolution, while the Pro:Idiom technology ensures a streamlined viewing experience with premium HDTV content.
The HU8000F and HU7010F step up the options with popular OTT apps, allowing guests to watch their favorite shows on demand, as they would at home. Alongside, the HTVs broadcast live television on hundreds of channels across all genres. And if what the guest wants still isn’t there, they support casting from personal devices via Apple AirPlay and Google Cast.
HU8000F comes in six sizes, from 43 to 85 inches, and is ideal for wall mounting, although tabletop is still possible. HU7010F, with five sizes between 43 and 75 inches, sits on a stand and can swivel 180 degrees, enabling direct viewing from wherever the guest feels most comfortable in the room.
All models run on the Tizen Enterprise Platform, enabling easy deployment, zero-touch configuration and streamlined maintenance. Samsung LYNK Cloud integration also allows hotel teams to analyze usage and discover trends that may inform promotions and on-screen messaging.
Positioning your hotel as a forward-thinking brand
Integrating OTT apps into hotel TVs is one of the most direct ways to elevate the guest experience. It aligns with modern expectations for personalized, on-demand entertainment while positioning properties as forward-thinking leaders in hospitality. With careful planning, hotels can transform in-room entertainment into a more engaging, memorable and profitable part of the guest stay.
Learn more about the value of HTVs in hotels and how they can change the guest experience. Also discover the full range of Samsung HTVs to find the best fit for your hotel.
