LodgeNet Interactive Corporation, media and connectivity service provider for hospitality and healthcare establishments, has added a Mobile Interactive Program Guide (IPG) feature to its LodgeNet mobile app.
With this feature, hotel guests can access up to three days of television programming available at the hotel they are staying at by using their mobile device. The app itself, which was originally launched in January 2012, was developed for LodgeNet’s hotel partners using the LodgeNet Interactive TV (iTV) System. Guests can use their smartphones or Tablets to navigate the iTV system instead of a remote control, and can also use their phone to pay for special programs. The app also targets guests according to traveler profile and hotel class for various entertainment or dining options, forwarding contact information and photos for various places that may fit the guest’s profile. Guests may also access content or offers provided by the hotel itself. Other features allow guests to order room service, make on-site reservations, book spa treatments and checkout without having to go to the front desk. The app is currently available in over 600,000 hotel rooms across the United States and Canada.
Derek S. White, President of Interactive & Media Networks for LodgeNet says that the app “was developed to be fun, fast and very easy to use so that travelers can customize their hotel and travel experience in everything from the movies they watch, to the restaurants they dine in, to the hotel services and entertainment options they choose – all managed and controlled through their own mobile device…At the same time, it enables hotels to communicate with their guests in a seamless way between the mobile and interactive television screen.”
LodgeNet hopes that the new IPG feature will take “in-room TV entertainment to the next level” by providing travelers access to channel programming so that they can see where/if their shows or sporting events are playing during their stay and at what time.
