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It’s time to talk about designing content with hotel digital signage solutions. We have been covering many aspects of screen technology in the hospitality sector but today Kitcast Blog wants to focus on the more practical side of things. You’ll learn how to make digital signage hotel solutions work from a design standpoint with these 5 principles.
Digital signage hotel solutions for success
Experience economy influences hospitality. Guests are looking for more personalized stays. That’s the environment many hotels are finding themselves in.
Hotel digital signage solutions help bring more effective communication and engage with guests better.
Let’s look at the latest hospitality trends. In 2024, Mews and OnePoll organized a survey covering the hottest developments in the industry.
The first big revelation comes with the preferable check-in mode. 40% of surveyed travelers said they prefer to check in via a hotel’s website, app or digital kiosk. Almost 80% said they would be willing to stay at a hotel that had a completely automated front desk or self-service kiosk.
54% of the respondents said they would prefer a hotel with a Smart TV.
Another survey showed that 39% of guests want a fully contactless experience for all basic hotel transactions (check-in/out, food ordering, key collection, etc.).
As for the personalized experience, research by Bond found that 80% of guests seek personalization and 48% would be likely to return if the hotel offers one.
In other words, technological transformation and personalization are among the trending topics for any hotel.
Designing the best hotel digital signage experience: the basics
So you’ve deployed digital signage hotel solutions, now what? It’s time to design your content. But when there are so many options to choose from, it can get a bit overwhelming. That’s why it’s important to take your time and strategize.
Kitcast comes with a superb content design system. You have access to tons of customizable templates and many widgets. This makes it easy to get the content your hotel needs. It’s possible to either design your own visuals or turn to hundreds of pre-made templates.
Also, the new Kitcast has an AI content designer. You just write a text prompt and our software instantly generates images and videos. That’s an awesome tool for hotels as the AI builder gives you the power to create quickly.
Every hotel is different. Digital signage hotel solutions are a tool for effective engagement. To have the best guest experience, it’s up to you to fine-tune your content according to your audience’s needs.
A digital signage content strategy for 3-star business hotels on the outskirts of a megalopolis would be different from, say, an ultra-luxurious island resort in the Bahamas. Getting specific and giving guests the interactions they would enjoy is the key to success.
Here are the 5 general principles for designing digital signage content for hospitality spaces.
1. Keeping it readable and visible
The less is more. It holds true for effective hotel digital signage content. Getting straight to the point is the way to go. It’s how any content should be treated in the age of a short attention span.
These are top tips for readability and visibility:
– keep the text short and concise
Make it easy to immediately understand the message. Use bullet points. Don’t overstuff your sentences. Create punchy headlines of up to 7 words.
– pay attention to font legibility and size
Fonts play a great role in how your digital signage content is perceived. Arial, Helvetica or Roboto work perfectly for legibility. Choose fonts that aren’t decorative or confusing. Also, make sure that your text is large enough to be seen without any problems.
– high contrast is a must
A sharply contrasting text on a background is much more visually appealing. It is also much easier to interact with. So stick to this rule while designing digital signage content for your hotel.
– have a limited color palette
Use up to 3 colors in your content. Don’t overdo the palette as it can make your message harder to read.
– think about the viewing distance
The further the screen the bigger the content.
– make it accessible and inclusive
Follow ADA guidelines to design the most accessible content.
2. Staying consistent with branding and aesthetics
Hotel digital signage solutions are amazing for branding. The screens give you unlimited possibilities to “weave” your aesthetics into any content you’re showing. Also, displays can create a desired aesthetic that supports your branding.
Essentially, the ideal case scenario here is ensuring that the guest enters your unique “world” when staying at the hotel.
When branding is done right, it nurtures loyalty, improves guest satisfaction and guarantees guest return.
Here are the tips for designing the best branding experience with displays:
- design your digital signage content using brand colors
- have a special typography that represents your hotel
- naturally feature your logo in the content you show
- use screens to accentuate hotel design elements (emulating decor elements with displays, showing ambient content with hotel colors, emphasizing certain colors or tones, etc.)
- promote the hotel’s identity through unique content
- use a unified tone of voice throughout all your marketing channels (offline interaction, website, social media, screens)
3. Design for guest engagement
Digital signage hotel solutions are made to boost communication. Engagement is at the core of why your hotel should have a screen network. But to get the most out of your displays, it’s important to design content that is interactive and sparks engagement.
Here are practical ways how you do it:
QR codes
Having QR codes guarantees interaction. They serve as an equivalent of a web link that you can track. You can use QR codes on all types of content: specialized guides, digital menus, bookings, add-ons, etc.
Social media promotion
The social side is equality important for hotels today. Screens allow you to promote your channels, highlight hashtags, organize competitions and incentivize user-generated content.
Feedback
Show guests you care by collecting feedback with the help of the screens.
Wayfinding
A clear wayfinding system goes a long way in ensuring that guests have a hassle-free time navigating your hotel or resort.
4. Get the most out of the dwell time
Attention is the biggest commodity when it comes to digital signage. Dwell time shows you how long a guest spends looking at the content you’re showing on the screen. Having this data will help you design your content much better.
There are rules here. Usually, the zones in hotels are divided according to how long guests would usually interact with the screens. Thus, there are:
– Brief interaction zones (elevators, hallways)
These spaces have a short dwell time. They need content that’s straight-to-the-point, dynamic and punchy.
– Long interaction zones (lobby, restaurants, bar, spa, room)
That’s where all the main digital signage magic happens. You can show longer content here and fully deploy the interactive element.
Design your content according to the specificity of the space (for example, restaurant displays would show different things than the spa displays).
5. Don’t publish without testing first
There’s nothing worse than digital signage that malfunctions. For a hotel that would mean a bad first impression. You don’t want that.
Make sure to test drive every content you’re showing beforehand. See how it looks, simulate the guest interaction and check out if it’s visible enough.
Another big preparation detail is making sure that the quality is adequate and the delivery is smooth.
Go through every step to give your guests the best digital signage experience.
