Is Your Digital Signage Investment Generating Maximum ROI? 4 Recommendations
The US hotel industry is seeing growing revenue, but it’s also experiencing shrinking profit margins due to increased operational expenses. According to a June forecast from industry data platforms STR and Tourism Economics, "While top-line performance is advancing, growing operating expenses are projected to limit profit growth over the remainder of 2023."
If you have digital signs installed in your hotel, you may have noticed that they are not optimized for revenue. Also, managing these digital displays internally might be taking up valuable time and resources, raising concerns about whether your investment is generating maximum revenue for your hotel.
This article provides four recommendations for how you can improve the performance and profitability of your venue’s digital signage while reducing staffing expenses and other operational costs.
Prioritize Signage Maintenance
Starting with the basics, consistent maintenance of your digital signage can increase the lifetime value of your players and displays, preventing downtime and, in turn, revenue loss.
Did you know that the accumulation of dirt and dust can hinder the effectiveness of cooling systems, vents, ports, and screen vibrancy? This is why it’s important to clean out the enclosures and ensure that fans remain free from dust. By incorporating simple routines such as dusting, washing, eliminating stains, and utilizing compressed air to dislodge loose particles, you can enhance the performance and durability of your displays.
Refresh Older Hardware
Continuous usage of your digital signs will inevitably lead to wear, diminished performance, and, eventually, the need for a hardware refresh. Periodic hardware replacement is necessary not only to maintain an excellent guest experience but also to provide added sponsorship revenue from new features and options available as a result of the upgraded technology. Typically, hardware warranties span three years, so it is beneficial to consider the cost benefits of a hardware refresh during the third and fourth years of service in order to maintain optimal performance and revenue potential.
If your digital signs are out-of-date, they will be more difficult to manage. This can lead to inconsistent visual branding and experiences for attendees and increased costs and workload for your staff. Updated, fully integrated digital displays allow you to dynamically orchestrate content across screens to keep messages timely and relevant. For example, by placing digital signs strategically along a designated path to create progressive steps in a storyline, you can create a more immersive visual experience that enhances viewer engagement with your sponsors’ brand stories and products.
Tap Into More Sponsorship Revenue
Event planners rely on digital signage to impress attendees with bold, branded, interactive visual displays that can help generate significant incremental revenue not just for the venue but for the event itself. Given the right sales strategy and execution, sponsorship sales of digital messaging can help many event clients offset other event costs and increase spending on the attendee experience.
According to Nielsen research, sponsorships drive a 10% increase in purchase intent among exposed audiences. Infotrends reports that digital signage can increase brand awareness by 48% and boost purchases by 30%. Newer digital displays include more interactive options and enhanced capabilities, which can lead to even more impressive conversion numbers that can be leveraged to attract greater sponsorship revenue.
Let Experts Help You Maximize Revenue and Reduce Operational Costs
Many hotels are currently experiencing staffing shortages, making it even more challenging to manage digital signage content in a way that will deliver more conversions and increase the value of sponsorships. In fact, a new survey of hoteliers conducted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) states that 82% of surveyed hotels reported staffing shortages, which is an increase from 79% in January 2023.
Internal management of your digital signage content can be a time-consuming task that takes your staff away from their primary responsibilities. Done right, you’ll need resources that can do everything from create, schedule and manage content to sell, troubleshoot and assist sponsors with their last-minute changes. Given all of the other competing hotel and event priorities and tight resources, it’s no wonder that digital signage - in spite of its potential impact on both event experience and revenue - often gets short shrift.
But it doesn’t have to. Alleviate the burden on your hotel event staff, allow them to focus on other critical tasks, and significantly improve both event experience and revenue by outsourcing the management of your digital signage to a reputable and experienced digital signage provider. Allowing experts to manage your digital signage systems and content in a way that minimizes your costs while maximizing sponsorships and guest experience will help ensure a better top-line and bottom-line for your hotel and a better long-term outlook for your business.
Want Help Maximizing the ROI for Your Digital Signs?
Partnering with experts allows you to enjoy all the benefits of digital signage without the headaches. The right digital signage service provider will not only give you a competitive edge, but it can help mitigate the cost of the hardware, improve your technology infrastructure, and maximize revenues for your property.
Xpodigital is a full-service digital signage partner most trusted by hospitality and events professionals to deliver flawless digital experiences. By entrusting your digital signage management to Xpodigital, your venue can ensure its technology is up-to-date, visually impressive, fully supported and delivering maximum ROI for the business.
Xpodigital can help:
Find cost-effective ways to maximize digital signage revenue this year
Optimize spaces and screens for greater profitability
Fully design and manage content across screens and properties
Equip and support your team in selling ad space
If you’re looking to work with a digital signage partner that you can trust, consider Xpodigital.
