In-Room Tech: The Key to Five-Star Reviews?

The Psychology of Guest Satisfaction: How TV Content Impacts Hotel Reviews

Picture the scene: you’ve just checked into your hotel after a long flight. You drop your bags, collapse onto the bed, and grab the remote. This moment—this simple, sacred ritual—can set the tone for your entire stay. If the hotel’s TV selection is top-notch, your stress melts away. You dive into your favourite show. But if the content options are limited to local news and a handful of terrestrial channels? That's got two star Tripadvisor review written all over it....

The relationship between TV content and guest satisfaction is more than just anecdotal, it’s psychology, hospitality science, and a little common sense all rolled into one. Let’s explore how the right (or wrong) TV content influences how guests perceive their hotel stay—and, ultimately, what they say in their reviews...

Comfort TV: The Secret Weapon of Guest Satisfaction

Travel is exciting, but it's is often stressful. New environments, unfamiliarity, time zone changes, missing friends and family... A perfect storm of discombobulation—one that can leave guests disconcerted and craving something familiar.

Enter: comfort TV. Whether it’s a beloved sitcom, a guilty-pleasure reality show, or a compelling drama, familiar content has a calming effect. A study published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science found that watching familiar  TV shows can reduce anxiety and increase feelings of comfort—something every hotelier should be aware of.

Comfort TV: The Ultimate Boredom Buster

Sometimes, guests just want to take it easy. Whether they’re tired, under the weather or simply not in the mood to mix it up in the bar, the hotel room becomes a sanctuary.

And this is where the TV needs to take centre stage as the ultimate boredom buster. If a hotel's TV game is on point, a quiet night in turns from channel-surfing tedium to box set marathon.

Providing diverse entertainment options is especially important for solo travellers, introverts, or those simply fancying some TV time (and that's likely to happen, your guests are addicted to content!).

A happy, relaxed guest. That’s a guest far more likely to leave a glowing review, right?

Content is King, Choice is Queen...

But what exactly does 'diverse entertainment options' mean?

Your guests aren't going to be impressed with 300 nondescript channels (50 of them dedicated to shopping) and a handful of pay-per-view movies. In this Streaming era guests expect much, much, more.

A 2023 hospitality report (1) found that hotels offering on-demand streaming services, like Netflix and Prime, saw a 22% increase in positive reviews compared to those relying solely on terrestrial TV.

That's a big number for such a small component of the hospitality experience. Or is it?! In this digital world, we're used to technology making our lives easier. Giving us control. Providing immediacy. Streaming ticks all the above boxes, offering not just control, but content, and lots and lots of choice. So putting it simply, if a hotel TV system doesn't allow guests to watch their own content on the in-room TV, guest satisfaction is on the back foot the moment the remote's pointed at the TV...

Little Details

The provision of on-demand content and content sharing in the hotel room will go a long way to making most of your guests happy, but of course, in the world of hospitality, you have to keep all your guests happy, not just some of them...

A business traveller from Brussels, a honeymooning couple from Hawaii, and an adventurer from Accrington—not the start of a joke, but the reality of modern hospitality. Hotels serve diverse guests with equally ecelctic entertainment preferences. Whilst the provision of streaming services will go a long way in keeping guests happy, offering a mix of local programming, international channels, and multi-language support is a great way to show guests they're valued.

Can your German guest watch the Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund game on the in-room TV? that's the kind of detail that's helping you earn a five-star review...

Final Thoughts

In today’s ultra-competitive hospitality industry, little details can make or break a guest's experience. A well-curated, tech-savvy in-room entertainment system is no longer a luxury but a mandatory. Guests expect choice, convenience, and control, and if they don't get it, they'll vote with their feet...or via Tripadvisor.

So, hotel managers, take note: Your TV system might just be the unsung hero of your guests' satisfaction. 

_{(1) Nielsen National TV Panel}