The Consummate Traveler: Transforming Hotel TV

One of the things that my colleagues and I miss during a long trip abroad is our favorite television programs from home. On our car rides to and from the office, we often reminisce about episodes of our favorite sitcoms from over the years.

While it is true that some countries offer better English-speaking channels than others, it is a frequent area in need of serious refurbishment. In the hotel I am currently calling home, my options are pretty much limited to five hard-news channels, Fashion TV, and Nickelodeon. While I enjoy brushing up on my Italian, Spanish, and German, this is hardly the lineup I look forward to after a long day at work.

Furthermore, with companies facing budget cutbacks (and hotel pay per view movies ranging approximately $20 each) longer-term customers like me are often left to grin and bear it. However, I think we are turning a technological corner. To my surprise, when I opened the door of my hotel room last week, there was a media hub set up allowing multiple options to connect devices directly to the hotel television. This included ports to handle an IPOD, DVD player, or laptop computer.

Trust me when I say that I have dragged my own cables across the globe hoping to connect my IPAD to hotel televisions for at least two years—which never turned out successful. Of course, now that the configuration is all set up for me, I have left my cables at home. Yet, this clever hotel just happens to sell the needed cables in their own gift shop. How brilliant!

I suspect that soon this will be a standard feature we will all be able to consistently expect across major hotel chains. However, during this interim period, I would advise calling up your hotel prior to arrival to find out if guest rooms offer any connectivity options. This way you can be adequately prepared and make the most of your hotel television to suit your needs.

As always, I wish you all very happy and successfully connected travels.

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