The past two years have been a challenging time for the hospitality industry. At the same time the pandemic was stifling travel, leading to dramatically reduced revenues, hotel brands felt forced into making new investments in areas like touchless tech in order to compete.
Although business has stabilized for some, numbers remain down overall. Many hotels, still attempting to make up for lost time, are searching for new revenue streams that can be integrated into their models without the commitment of debilitating up-front costs. Most brands have already picked all the low-hanging fruit to be found, but one potential area of profit that perhaps hasn’t been fully explored is over-the-top media.
And because most hotel brands already offer OTT in some form (and, in some cases, many forms), leaning into this tactic likely requires no—or few—additional resources. With an understanding of your local market and existing associations with your brand, and with a bit of creativity, you’ll likely be able to brainstorm some new ideas yourself.
Here are four ways hotel brands can monetize OTT content:
1. Las Vegas shows
“America’s Playground” has a disproportionately large chunk of the hotel industry, in part because people flock from across the country—and even the globe—to come bask in the lights, to hear the silver fall and to see a show. Las Vegas, once viewed as strictly a gambler’s enclave, has become a mecca for live entertainment of all kinds—and the city is showing signs of its pre-pandemic vibrancy. But for Vegas hotel brands to make the most of their current investments (such as residencies for big acts like Lady Gaga and Keith Urban), one consideration would be to offer guests a discounted pay-per-view stream of the live show. Business travelers and the curious who couldn’t get a ticket at the concert venue figure to be influenced by local and in-hotel advertising, and OTT integrations to shop for merchandise and tickets to future shows can drive additional sales.
2. Fights
Few sports fans travel as well as boxing and MMA aficionados, and they aren’t shy about spending their cash in search of an immersive experience. Whether staged in Las Vegas, Los Angeles or Little Rock, fight cards bring out fans, celebrities and old pros—a mix that translates to opportunity for enterprising hotel brands. A package that includes streams of the fight week workouts, interviews, the weigh-in and the card itself could be set at a reasonable price that would draw interest from casual guests and even those with tickets to the fight. Building an event—with celebs making scheduled appearances and former fighters signing autographs in the hotel ballroom—would even entice fans who maybe were shut out of the main show.
3. Adventure experiences
Whether it’s white water rafting, helicopter excursions or scuba diving, many hotels offer amenities—or partner with others that do—to appeal to guests’ intrepid sides. Promotional OTT videos broadcast on hotel room televisions and screens in lobbies and elevators will pique their interest, and streaming tutorials get guests ready for the adventure without tying up costs in dedicated training sessions. What else? How about a GoPro camera that records the guest’s moment for posterity (and a small fee)?
4. Tours
Although exclusively promotional, streaming tours of the hotel grounds—including spa, gym, pool and more—will open guests’ eyes to all that your brand has to offer. A video featuring the hotel’s marquee restaurant touts your chef, staff and dishes, while providing a sensory experience that urges guests toward your tables. Perhaps even room service integrations can be added to OTT streams for guests to order directly from the screen in their room.
George Meek is CEO of InPlayer.