Beverly Hills, CA -- Hilton Hotels today announced a program to test home-theater television systems in its guest rooms, with installations in 25 rooms at the Hilton Chicago O'Hare International Airport and 30 rooms at the Hilton San Francisco.
Each system features a 42-inch plasma television screen with surround sound. Guests can also plug portable devices such as MP3 players, laptops, digital cameras, and video recorders into a connectivity panel for use with the screen and loudspeakers. A cable pack is also supplied.
The rooms also feature all-day sports packages on demand, including football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and college sports. Programming from DirecTV will include 14 high-definition channels among 40 total network and cable channels, and five or more XM Satellite Radio stations.
"Travelers desire more digital entertainment options in the hotel guest room than ever before," said Tom Keltner, chief executive, Americas and Global Brands, Hilton Hotels Corporation. "The Sight+Sound Rooms underscore our overall strategy of providing a more personalized experience in-room -- giving guests choice and control over their surroundings.”
Hilton did not say when it plans to roll out a state-of-the-art digital entertainment system brandwide.
In March, Marriott International announced deployment of its own in-room digital entertainment system, featuring a 32-inch LCD television screen and loudspeakers, and plug-in pack to accept guests' portable digital devices. The technology is being installed at the Marriott, JW Marriott, and Renaissance brands in the United States and Canada. Full deployment is expected by the end of 2009.
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