Hilton is turning to technology as a differentiator in the hotel space. The company this week unveiled the Connected Room, a tech-based initiative that'll allow guests to control and personalize aspects of their stay through their mobile device.
The experience, currently in beta testing at one location, is managed from the Hilton Honors mobile app. It allows guests to automate most things they would traditionally have to do manually like adjust the temperature, lighting and window coverings. You'll also be able to personalize the television in your room by loading it with your preferred streaming media accounts.
Future iterations will allow guests to use voice commands to control their room or access content. Visitors will even be able to upload their own artwork for display in their rooms (presumably on digital photo frames or the television).
Those without smartphones will be able to control the smart room features using the TV-based interface.
Technology is nothing new for the hotel industry. Last year, the Wynn Las Vegas announced it would be outfitting every guest room with Amazon's Echo smart speaker. It was also reported that some Vegas hotels would be trialing virtual reality-based porno rentals (it is called Sin City, after all).
Hilton's Connected Room experience is heading to several additional locations in the coming weeks and will scale nationally in 2018, we're told.