Google and Nevaya strike in-room entertainment agreement for Chromecast devices

Partnership will allow guests to stream their content from their own devices

by Kaia Hicks

Nevaya, a hospitality guest experience SaaS company, has struck a global agreement with Google to provide Chromecast devices in hotel rooms.

The partnership will allow guests to stream their content, for example from their Netflix account on their own mobile device, to in-room TVs during their stay.

Hotels using the technology will save money on purchasing content for their TV system and also drive ancillary revenue via room-service and food and beverage spending.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Nevaya Cloud platform is certified by Google for the use of Chromecast in hospitality locations including hotels, student accommodation, assisted/senior living and cruise ships.

Nevaya says it helps the hospitality industry provide guests a better digital experience, including TV control, in-room dining via the guest mobile device, WiFi authentication and an Open API for integration to other systems.

Nevaya claims to be the only fully SaaS (Software as a Service) cloud platform, allowing global scalability and removing the need for unreliable onsite servers.

The firm says the technology is more secure having been through Google’s detailed security process as well as meeting stringent requirements of ISO27001.

The agreement between the companies gives Google access to an estimated five billion guest-nights per year and is expected to encourage further adoption of products like smart speakers and smart displays.

Michiel van Eldik, general manager and vice president EMEA of devices and services at Google, said: “We are delighted to be working with Nevaya to deliver a cloud-based in-room hospitality solution using Google Chromecast devices for casting.

“We are excited to support our hospitality partners in delivering a feature-rich and secure entertainment experience to their guests, as we look to travel more again in 2022.”

James Richmond, chief executive of Nevaya, said: “Only about 5% of hotel rooms in the world currently enable streaming onto their TVs. Linear TV (sometimes called terrestrial TV) is increasingly being replaced by streaming of channels/services, and hotels are now looking to match or better the experience a guest would have at home.

“This new partnership between Nevaya and Google means that hotels are now able to provide the reliable experience that guests want – endorsed by the technology behemoth.

“Our casting service can slot into almost any TV or network. Hotels can then also postpone the high cost of installing Smart TVs in every room.

“We’re seeing over 30% of guests using the service on a daily basis, and while they’re using it are ordering in-room dining and staying onsite for longer.

“In addition to higher revenue and improved guest satisfaction, hotels are also saving money on expensive channel subscriptions – guests bring their own content.”

Richmond added: “Using our casting platform can give hotel guests a truly seamless experience: one tap and their content appears on the TV without having to re-enter their credentials.

“We always try to design our systems so that every digital touchpoint for a hotel guest is as friction-free, secure and easy as possible – this is a great step forward for that.”