The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A Cable Bahamas executive yesterday predicted that “hospitality TV” will be “big” for the tourism industry as it seeks to build momentum for greater nationwide penetration.

Chantelle Sands, the BISX-listed communications provider’s head of Family island business accounts, told the Eleuthera Business Outlook conference that it plans to increasingly engage the tourism industry in rolling out its ‘Hospitality Television’ service.

She said: “I want to talk about hospitality TV. This is big for our country and the islands. Tourism is big, and so we want to talk about the advanced technology we have for hotels and our resorts.

“Cable Bahamas has been providing IPTV services to the hotel market for several years, but the service has been limited to delivering TV services only. If a hotel did not have the resources to roll out and support their own hospitality platform, they weren’t able to take full advantage of what their hospitality TV is all about.”

Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over the Internet, which allows users to stream content through the source continuously rather than just downloading content to watch at a later time.

“In addition, the IPTV functionality of our platform makes enhanced hospitality features accessible to all hotels,” Ms Sands said. “It eliminates the huge costs associated with upfront purchase of the middleware and the maintenance associated with wanting the hospitality platform.”

This, she added, will allow hotels to customise features for their guests by adding certain features relating to the property or any specific activities or venues they want to highlight. It will also allow for an “express checkout”, said Ms Sands, in addition to features such as room service and housekeeping service co-ordination.

“Guest carried content is proving to be the most important content in a guest room. Streaming media apps such as Netflix, HBO, Disney and YouTube mean more to guests than any other content,” said Ms Sands.

“This service is available in Eleuthera, Abaco, Grand Bahama and New Providence. The only requirements are that you have Cable fibre services in place and that the infrastructure is throughout every room. Definitely you will need to have hospitality TVs in each room to be able to access this hospitality TV product.”

Speaking to businesses engaging new technology in a COVID-19 environment, Ms Sands said: “There are many solutions available and they vary for company models and sizes.

“We see that less mature companies held back and experienced challenges, while more mature companies are able to focus on technology investments that improve the digital experience and create revenue for their business.

“So in today’s world in 2021, businesses must be willing to step out of their comfort zones, push the boundaries on new digital experiences and technologies, which is a difficult thing to do given the shake up that occurred last year, but it’s more important now than ever.”