As the price of electronics keeps rising, it's more challenging to find hospitality TVs at an attractive, competitive price. It's even more complicated when working with a modest budget and needing maximum value. Overall, you have several brands from which to choose, and they each come with different bells and whistles like embedded apps or compatibility with specific hotel IT systems. As a quick example, a hotel TV near the reception lobby may or may not need touchscreen capabilities, depending on how you align your brand standards with hospitality technology. But you don’t always have to buy the most expensive hotel television to impress guests.

The trick is to narrow down your requirements and how many extra features your guests will actually use during their stay. That said, here's what we recommend as 5 steps to save money with great deals when buying new hospitality televisions.

1) Consult Hotel Technology Product Experts

Initially, you might have the urge to race to the bottom and buy bargain-basement hotel TVs, but there’s a better way to go about the search. Consult with experts who know the ins and outs of hotel tech infrastructure, including the network and all peripheral devices. After all, integration doesn’t happen on its own, and you can’t install new TVs for the sake of installing new tech and expect instant results. You have to optimize every aspect to get max value from any new tech. Otherwise, you’ll miss opportunities to improve the guest experience with seamless technology amenities. So, consulting a hotel tech expert will give you a much-needed perspective on what hotel televisions your systems can support and which are too complex. If you're unsure what's available, it's always best to buy directly from a specialist in hotel technology and hospitality TVs.

2) Buy Directly From a Hotel Tech Distributor

Paying retail prices for hotel TVs is a non-starter now that inflationary pressures continue driving prices higher. At this time, there’s no telling how long price increases will persist, but nevertheless, hotels would do best by only buying hospitality televisions from hotel distributors. This way, you can ensure that you’re choosing products specifically designed for the hospitality industry. Buying directly from a distributor is the more affordable option because they can offer the best deals. They work with manufacturers to fulfill the market's needs, so there's a good chance the products they sell are top-of-the-line and made specifically for hotels. Technically, it's possible to connect a residential-grade television to a hotel's network, but the functionality will most likely be limited.

3) Check Your Hospitality TV Brand Standards

The TVs you eventually purchase must also align with your hotel technology brand standards, especially the tech standards because every hotel is unique. It depends on how you want to integrate tech into the guest's experience. Does your brand want to focus on convenience and offer checkout via smartphone apps? Or will installing a hotel TV with checkout functionality be the better option? Technology standards matter when it comes to branding because you don't want malfunctioning technology ruining the guests' experience. You have to deliver on what you promise to visitors. So, by optimizing tech alongside your brand, you can find natural synergy and impress guests. The good news is that it's a pretty straightforward checklist when deciding which hospitality TVs to buy.

4) Make a Checklist for Your Hospitality TVs: Necessities and Features

In all likelihood, guests won’t use all of the hotel TV’s features. Instead, they’ll stick to their familiar favorites like Netflix, Hulu, or Spotify, so take the time to consider whether or not you need any extras. It’s tempting to buy a hospitality TV packed with new apps, but does it make sense financially speaking if guests won’t use them? Furthermore, every hotel room doesn’t necessarily need the same hospitality TV. Here’s where alignment with brand standards comes into the equation because you could go the other direction and give all visitors access to premium entertainment. On the flip side, you could choose to install basic hotel televisions in the more affordable rooms.

Either way, a basic checklist will include:

• Hotel TV screen size

• Screen type (LED vs. LCD)

• Resolution quality

• Touchscreen functionality

• Remote control voice commands

• Embedded popular apps

• Compatibility with hotel information systems

• Energy consumption

• Automation features

For instance, you can narrow the search to 43" HD TVs compatible with specific hotel IT. After that, you can turn to a hotel tech distributor with precise needs and buy bulk to save money.

5) Buy Hospitality TVs in Bulk

Generally, buying electronics in bulk is the easiest way to get the best deals; the same is true for the hospitality industry. The rule of thumb is that you'll save the most when you buy more products, receiving a price break at a specific volume. This way, you'll get the best value per unit as well as with the entire purchase. Additionally, if you get a couple more televisions than you need for your inventory, it may come in handy in case any of the TVs have to be replaced or changed down the line. Once you've gone through the checklist of what you'll need, maximizing every dollar you spend will be much easier because hotel TVs can last a long time if maintained and updated on a schedule. The hard part is knowing which features your guests will enjoy and which ones they're not likely to notice.

Questions About Hospitality TVs or Other Hospitality Tech Products?

If you’d like to learn more, reach out to us for information on the hospitality TVs and / or tech products that work best for your needs.