LG Electronics will join hands with global hotel chain Marriott International to develop a platform that integrates hotel TVs and in-room devices for unified cloud management.
LG Electronics said on the 2nd that it recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at Marriott headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, to upgrade guestroom entertainment and technology platforms. The signing was attended by Kwak Do-young, head of LG Electronics North America (executive vice president), and Drew Pinto, Marriott chief technology officer (CTO) and chief revenue officer (CRO).
The two companies will jointly develop a cloud-based platform so hotel TVs can be used as media hubs that deliver in-room content and services. Based on guest experience (UX), hotel operations know-how, and global technology infrastructure, Marriott will set the service direction, while LG Electronics will handle cloud platform development, integrated in-room device management, and operational technology support.
Under existing hotel guestroom entertainment systems, each hotel had to build and run its own servers and set-top boxes. With the new platform, hotel operators can remotely check device status from individual guestroom TVs to entire properties and push batch updates for content, applications, and software.
Guests will be able to use live TV and over-the-top (OTT) services through LG Electronics hotel TVs in their rooms. Going forward, the companies plan to expand features so guests can control other devices such as room temperature and lighting via the TV.
LG Electronics has long partnered with Marriott in the hotel TV business, and with this agreement it will expand the scope of collaboration to hotel technology platforms. The two companies will first deploy the new platform at 40 hotels in the United States and Canada and then roll it out sequentially to global hotel brands under Marriott.
LG Electronics supplies hotel OLED (organic light-emitting diode) TVs; the in-room content and device management solution "LG Pro:Centric (LG Pro)"; and its proprietary TV and display operating system, webOS, to hotels worldwide.
Min Dong-seon, head of the ID Business Division at the MS Business Headquarters of LG Electronics, said, "By combining cloud and the webOS platform with our competitive hotel TV products, we will continue to roll out total solutions for future smart hotels."