Hilton Tests the Home Theater Hotel Room

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admin

Audioholics Robot
Staff member
Ever wonder why you never see 5.1 systems in a hotel room. I mean, it doesn't cost much to put in even a basic system - so why not spec it into the build of a new facility? Ok, I'm "geeking out" as a certain friend of mine would say... but why not? Apparently someone at Hilton Hotels agrees with me. They've launched home theater-like "Sight+Sound Rooms" at two test-bed hotels. This includes a couple dozen guest rooms at the Hilton Chicago O'Hare International Airport and even more at the Hilton in San Francisco.


Discuss "Hilton Tests the Home Theater Hotel Room" here. Read the article.
 
highfihoney

highfihoney

Audioholic Samurai
I think its an excellent & profitable idea,there are alot of people who travel alot & stay in hotels for more than a day or two who would love having an HT system to help pass the time.

I go in spurts where i stay in hotels for extended periods & having the option of an HT at one of the hotels would be the deciding factor on where i chose to stay,even if it cost more.

One things for sure,making it work would depend on how they trained their sales/desk staff on what type of customer to push the product on.
 
Warpdrv

Warpdrv

Audioholic Ninja
Lets not forget about the marketing side of this thought process, more money for the theater room, and how about the services you have to pay for to use it.

Watch this HD movie, press OK ... Its only $19.99 or more.
 
Jack Hammer

Jack Hammer

Audioholic Field Marshall
I think it's a great idea. I noticed that they are promoting it to a wide audience. I think mentioning MP3 connectivity and the ability to watch sporting events on a 42" widescreen hdtv, plus directv access will make this catch on with the general traveling public. It really seemed like they were going more after that target market than they were the ht crowd. I bet the buying of porn movies doubles in those rooms. :eek: ;) :D

Jack
 
I think they'll make their money back, due to business-expensed trips... But I don't think it will "catch on" or become mainstream. Total investment is only about ~$4000/room I would guess.
 
birdonthebeach

birdonthebeach

Full Audioholic
I just don't want to be in the room next door after a long day of travel when some idiot orders up Spiderman 3 on PPV at 2 am and cranks the sub....
 
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Buckeye_Nut

Audioholic Field Marshall
I look at this from a different vantage point......


IE... the person in the room next to you will now want to turn their sound higher:eek:

Unless they take serious soundproofing measures(which will never happen to the extent necessary), this is not a good idea...IMO.

When I travel.... I do NOT want to hear noise coming from neighboring rooms!!

PS..... the above might give me flashbacks from when I was a college kid living in a dorm:eek:

My vote is for................ "JUST SAY NO" to hotel surround sound.
 
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pikers

pikers

Audioholic
Builders don't see the value. End of story. The hardest thing to do as an integrator is to demonstrate how a tourist, really wanting to hit the hay after working/sightseeing all day, will care about concentrating on a 5.1 movie.

The soundproofing cost is a factor as well. These aren't high-end condos; they're "temp rooms" designed for functionality with some level of visibility. I would imagine there are a few, but they would be a dime a dozen.
 
Jack Hammer

Jack Hammer

Audioholic Field Marshall
I couldn't find any mention of a subwoofer in the setup, just the Yamaha ysp 800. In case any one isn't familiar with that model, it's the one with a bunch of 1.5" speakers on front and two 4" woofers and it is a sound projector, I think that's what it is called. There are no actual surround speakers behind you, it simulates surround sound from the front speakers. Also, no dvd player is included, you have to bring your own.

I just called the Chicago-Ohare Hilton and they didn't know if there was a subwoofer, they said it's a brand new room and they'd have to check. They offered to call me back buy I declined. The rates are only ~$20 more than normal per night, but the room rates fluctuate quite a bit. I didn't think to ask about soundproofing. Being that it's an airport hotel, I'd think there is already a certain level of soundproofing in each room, probably outside soundproofing.

Jack
 
highfihoney

highfihoney

Audioholic Samurai
When I travel.... I do NOT want to hear noise coming from neighboring rooms!!

Good luck on that one:D

Im about 50/50 for getting placed next to morons,drunks & couples who slam stuff around,like the head board.

My worst was in Paramus New Jersey,2 days after i checked in for a 6 week stay a construction crew moved into the hotel & started renovating the rooms,these fools would sleep till 10 am & start work at noon then work up until midnight.:mad:

I asked the manager what was wrong with his head allowing them to work at all hours of the night,he told me in a deep joisey accent to just deal with it,as soon as he found out i was the guy paying for 23 other people for 6 weeks he changed his tune & made them stop working at 5pm.
 
zildjian

zildjian

Audioholic Chief
I think it's a great idea. I used to travel a lot around the country when I worked in the audio field, and when going from hotel to hotel on the road, I'd pack a small HT system with me and install it in the hotel room at least once or twice a week. This was great when I was driving and was able to have the equipment w/ me, but when I was flying from destination to destination, I had to go without (ultimate sadness!). This would have been a great solution. I hope more hotels start doing this.
Brad
 
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Buckeye_Nut

Audioholic Field Marshall
All I know is as surround sound is introduced......volume goes up.
(sub is irrelevant)


As a person who has done his share of business traveling in the past.....

I cant stand it when the "TV" volume next door is too loud. My sleep is precious, and I'll be dialing "0" to complain to the front desk in a heartbeat if the person next door is disturbing my sleep:mad:

As if being on the road isnt bad enough?

If hotels are interested in offering good sound to their patrons, they should offer quality headphones as an option. I enjoy cranking the sound in my HT as much as the next guy, but I dont want to hear that stuff on the road through a hotel wall. As far as I'm concerned, they can stick with the little 27" tube TV's, and I'll be just fine:)
 
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Buckeye_Nut

Audioholic Field Marshall
Good luck on that one:D

Im about 50/50 for getting placed next to morons,drunks & couples who slam stuff around,like the head board.

My worst was in Paramus New Jersey
Ouch... that would be a hard pill to swallow. I'm a light sleeper and easily disturbed, so when I'm on the road for business, I take foam earplugs...LOL

They certainly help, but they're still not enough to block a blaring TV in an adjacent room. Without them, somebody walking through the hallway heavy footed might wake me. :(
 
R

riceaterslc

Audioholic
here in korea there are a ton of motels. they differ vastly from the crappy roadside motel you find in the states. while they aren't as nice as a hilton or marriot, they are nicer than comfort inns or microtels, etc. hard to beat for $40-60/night. ALL of the ones i have stayed in have a large (~50"+) hdtv whether it be LCD, plasma or RPTV. MOST have 5.1 systems connected to a "HTPC" with a dvd collection of 20-50 movies to select from. it's something that i have taken for granted. last time i was back in the states i stayed in an embassy suites hotel and was surprised when the room that cost 3x as much only had a pair of 27" tube tv's. :mad:
 
Note that there is actually no mentionof a sub in the info... they may have realized that would be a potentially bad idea.
 
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