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Comment by a13n | Hacker News Reader

I think the author actually means "Enterprise B2B" when they say "B2B".

I run a B2B SaaS company. We sell to businesses. Most of them have 5-500 employees (SMB/Mid-Market). Last year we built a very simple MVP and quickly started selling it.

If you want to do this too, the buyer and idea must be compatible. The idea also has to be something the buyer wants.

Buyer: As far as I know, hotels aren't big on buying new, simple services from startups. Try brick & mortar / mom & pop stores, startups, tech companies, etc.

Idea: Tablets are a big startup cost. You're asking your first customers to pay a lot more than ours did. Or you're taking a big loss. This immediately makes it harder to get going.

Demand: Do hotels / guests even want tablets in rooms? What burning problem is this solving, how did you learn that, and why is this a great, cost-effective solution?

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You're definitely correct, I'm mostly talking about "Enterprise B2B." I'll clarify that.

Hotels are definitely tough buyers, not the most tech-savvy customers. My initial idea was not in-room tablets, I hoped to achieve the same thing through apps that guests could download on their phones. I approached hotels, and even got one to pilot it, but there were many issues with that, I can go into details if anyone's interested. I pivoted into in-room tablets after that.

The problem I'm trying to solve is that hotels are not able to properly collect guest data and upsell to guests. And today's guests expect personalized experiences, but hotels can't offer that in scale. In the long run, it might turn out that in-room tablets are not the best platform, but there is no doubt that the hospitality industry is going in this direction. Looking at a website like hospitalitytech.com, this is pretty much all they talk about.

“The Proper Hotel” in SF has tablets in the rooms. They run android and it works great. Definitely better than installing an app.

The room was expensive though, I prefer AirBnB with super hosts.

So definitely not a feature that alone would get me to come back.

Source: I stayed there.

As a guest I would love the ability to order room service/food through a tablet, rather than calling the phone, and hoping the other person can understand what I'm saying.

As a hotel owner, yeah, I'm not too sure... it might just be an additional cost, and not worth the ROI.

Yeah, but you could achieve the same value with an app/website on the guest's phone. Sure it's a tad more friction, but way cheaper and potentially worth it.

I would then need to know I could do that via an App. I guess if the hotel left a message in front of my room/desk, then yeah it would be the same effect. But then I probably would wonder if ordering through an app would relay reliably to them. With a tablet, it feels more 'real-time'

Could be a piece of information on your key or a small card delivered to you with the key and a verbal note.

I would also want to be sure that someone else couldn't order something to my room. You'd need some sort of one-time use code/key or something, and then the friction gets even higher.

To justify the cost, the plan is to offer a free trial with a few tablets to collect ROI data on how much more the guests spend, how much time they look at the tablet, etc.

Is there a way to build it off the TV. Like an interactive channel? Most hotels have customized channel guides and I don’t know what tech it is but that seems to be a possible route to avoid the tablet expense and it could be pitched as leveraging current assets (tv) which buyers would probably like more

Leveraging TVs in rooms is definitely an interesting idea, and I considered it many times, but decided against it in the end.

First of all, the product is more successful the more guests use it. Using a TV with a remote is not as good a user experience as using a tablet while you're lying in your bed. I'm hoping that allowing hotels to try the tablets for free for a few months while we're collecting ROI data will be able to convince them this is a good investment, but we'll see.

I'm also developing the client in React Native, and I will create an Apple TV version. I'm planning on first giving in-room tablets a try, and if it doesn't work maybe try to get in with TV apps first.

Thanks a lot for the thoughtful response, I appreciate it.

Good to hear you considered it already. However I’m afraid you may be putting too much emphasis on the UX. My case is singular but here’s why I feel that way.

I’ve stayed in a dozen or so hotels that have given me an iPad with apps for room service book spa appointments etc. Probably close to a month of time total.

I never look at. Ok I have twice. Because they said there was an app of local business (I quickly bounced and opened yelp on my device). Usually I toss it on my table or nightstand and never touch it. So, how do you change that behavior? The fact that I have my own devices is key. Mine is set up how I like it. Why would I use yours? I’m not casually using your device and then maybe stumble into the food app to order room service.

The tv however I use casually multiple times a day in a hotel. Usually around times that coincide with meal times, if I’m in room at all. I am always exposed to services like spa food etc. I just need a easy way to book at that moment. Picking up a foreign tablet to do so is a bad UX IMO.

Most guests are not tech oriented people. The advantage of a slick tablet UI isn’t going to win you much. Providing the right functionality at the right time in a half as good way will be more valuable.

Of course this is all conjecture and personal opinion but wanted to give my two cents. Good luck with the demo and I hope you get good feedback / roi

Sorry I missed this response, Hacker News doesn't send notifications as you know.

It's really interesting to hear your experiences with in-room tablets. I definitely agree that one of the biggest challenges is getting the guests to actually use the tablets. There are in-room tablet providers with user experiences not even close to what we have designed, and they claim to have a good amount of user interaction each day, but they might be lying or exaggerating. There is only one way to find out, but if it turns out that TV apps are more profitable than in-room tablets, that would actually be good for me.

Regarding your other point on allowing the guest to use his own device during stay, that is an important feature we are considering. I also agree that it is very important.

Thanks a lot again for all the input, I appreciate it!

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