Digital signage for hotels covers the reception welcome, the day's events, restaurant menus, directions and local tips on screens in public areas. Screenbird runs these on small players with playlists, planning by time of day and Google Calendar for events, from EUR 12 per screen per month billed annually.
What the screens do
Hotel screens work in the public areas of the building and answer the questions guests ask the front desk. Each location has its own purpose:
- Reception and lobby: a welcome message, check-in and check-out times, facility hours, the weather and a QR code for Wi-Fi or the hotel app.
- Events and conference floor: today's sessions, rooms and times, updated from a calendar.
- Restaurant and breakfast room: the breakfast menu until a set time, the evening menu afterward, and daily specials.
- Directions: floor plans, the way to the spa, pool and meeting rooms, and a floor-by-floor list near the lifts.
- Local tips: nearby restaurants, sights, transport times and seasonal events, in the languages guests speak.
Digital signage software drives screens in shared areas. Guest-room TV systems with channels and casting are a separate product category and are not covered here.
How to set up digital signage in a hotel
- List the screens and their jobs. Typical hotel screens are one in the lobby, one by the lifts, one in the restaurant and one for the conference or event floor.
- Choose players. A small stick behind each screen suits a hotel, where screens run from early morning to late evening. Recommended options include the Amazon Signage Stick and Google TV players. Recent Samsung and LG smart TVs run Screenbird in the built-in browser.
- Pair each screen. Open the Screenbird player on the screen and link it to your account with the code it shows.
- Build the content. Start from designer templates for welcome, facilities, menu and local tips. Add the hotel's photos and brand colors.
- Connect the data. Link a Google Calendar for events and a Google Sheet for menus or specials, so staff edit a spreadsheet or calendar and not the screen.
- Plan the day. Set the breakfast design for the morning, the restaurant menu for the evening and a default loop in between.
- Set on and off times. Switch screens off overnight or when a room closes, with HDMI-CEC on supported players.
- Walk the building. Check each screen from where a guest stands: reading distance, glare and whether the text is large enough.
What to show and where the data comes from
| Source | What it shows | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Designer templates | Welcome message, facility times, Wi-Fi details, local tips | Welcome screen |
| Google Calendar | Today's events and meetings with their rooms | Hotel information screen |
| Google Sheets or Excel | Daily specials, restaurant menu items, shuttle times | Display Google Sheets on a TV or put an Excel sheet on a TV |
| Designed floor plan | Directions to rooms, the spa, pool and meeting rooms | Digital directory board |
| Planning | Which design runs at which time of day | scheduling content by time of day |
How to show a restaurant menu that changes during the day
A hotel restaurant often serves three or four menus a day. Planning handles this: a breakfast design runs from the early morning until a set time, the evening menu starts in the afternoon, and a default loop fills the gap. Daily specials sit in a spreadsheet that the kitchen edits, so the design does not change.
Screenbird includes playlists and planning in its single plan, with repeat patterns for every day, weekdays or chosen days. A breakfast room that closes at 11:00 can also switch its screen off at that time through HDMI-CEC on supported players.
How to show events and directions
An event board is only useful when it is accurate. Connect a calendar and the board shows today's sessions without anyone retyping them. Screenbird includes Google Calendar, so a hotel that books meeting rooms in a shared calendar can show them on a screen at the entrance to the conference floor.
Directions work best as a simple picture: a floor plan with the key rooms marked, or a list of floors by the lifts. Screenbird's split screen puts a welcome message beside a floor plan or a clock. Where guests come from several countries, make one design per language and alternate them in a playlist.
How Screenbird handles this
- One plan with every feature: playlists, planning, split screen, proof of play and the designer, from EUR 12 per screen per month billed annually (EUR 15 billed monthly), excluding tax.
- Designer with more than 250 templates for welcome screens, menus and local tips, plus an AI assistant that builds playlists and schedules from plain-language instructions. Changes go live after you confirm.
- Google Sheets, Slides and Calendar feed menus, tips and events, and a welcome deck can come from Google Slides on a screen.
- Keeps playing without internet, so a lobby screen does not go blank when the Wi-Fi drops.
- Mixed hardware: Signage Stick, Fire TV, Google TV, Windows, Mac, Linux, Raspberry Pi and browsers in one account, including a Mac digital signage player.
- Trial: 7 days, credit card required. Cancel within 7 days and you are not charged.
What do hotels show on digital signage?
Hotels show a welcome message, facility hours, today's events, restaurant menus, directions and local tips. Each screen has one job for its location, such as the lobby or the conference floor.
Can a hotel screen show today's events automatically?
Yes. Screenbird includes Google Calendar, so a calendar of meetings and events can feed an event board without retyping.
Can the restaurant menu change between breakfast and dinner?
Yes. Screenbird planning runs the breakfast design until a set time and the evening menu afterward, and repeats the pattern on chosen days.
Does digital signage replace guest-room TVs?
No. Signage software drives screens in public areas. Guest-room TV systems with channels and casting are a separate category.
Which player suits a hotel lobby screen?
A small stick such as the Amazon Signage Stick suits a lobby screen that runs all day. Screenbird also runs on Google TV, Fire TV, Windows, Mac, Linux, Raspberry Pi and browsers.
Can the content be in more than one language?
Yes. Make one design per language and alternate them in a playlist. Screenbird's dashboard itself is available in 15 languages.
Sources: Screenbird: hotel information screen · Screenbird: welcome screen · Screenbird: digital directory board · Screenbird: display Google Sheets on a TV