Dec. 5, 2022 - In September, Google announced that it was discontinuing its Chromecast external dongle. Up until now, the dongle was an easy and popular smartphone-powered streamer for the TV that didn't need a remote or built-in apps.

So what does this mean for the hospitality industry? We have heard from many hotel owners that guests would bring their own (and leave it behind!) personal dongle to plug into the in-room TV to watch their own shows via the apps on their phones. In speaking with national chains and member groups like AAHOA, we discovered that several hotels recognized that guests wanted to watch their own content and were actually using the dongle to offer guests the ability to cast directly from their devices.

While it is great owners recognize what guests want, using an external dongle comes with its own headaches — number one, theft. Several owners we talked to mentioned dongles disappearing and having to install additional security measures. Secondly, there is the headache to the front desk when the TV gets left on the wrong input and the guest gets frustrated because they cannot watch TV.

So while the dongle may have seemed like a good workaround, it really wasn't an optimal solution.

One thing dongle use did show the industry is what guests want. They want the freedom to watch what they want regardless of the platform (Netflix, HBO Max, Disney +, Hulu, etc.) it is on.

Philips MediaSuite is the only hospitality TV in the world to be able to offer Chromecast built-in. With the technology built into the TV, guest scan a QR code to form a secure connection between their device (laptop, tablet, or phone) and start watching content directly from their device. Philips MediaSuite is the only TV that can display existing 4k content in 4K on the TV, something that was not possible with a dongle. Philips MediaSuite has many other benefits, including Netflix on-board, Pro:Idiom, Android-powered for easy updates, on-board analytics, and central command control with Philips CMND.

Simply put, these TVs are not affected at all by the recent Chromecast announcement because the Chromecast is built-in.

We are excited to be able to deliver a solution that meets both the guest's expectations and what the owner needs.