New EasyHotel at Heathrow

The new 55 bed easyHotel Heathrow has now opened for business and offers its guests a complete package of digital freeview channels that can be accessed by guests purchasing a Smoovie smartcard, supplied by Airwave, which inserts into the remote control. EasyHotel is now rolling this pay-to-view TV model out with Smoovie across Europe.

LG joins the Carlton Club

The world famous Carlton Club in London’s West End has opted to install the latest 19, 22 and 26 inch hotel LCDs from LG. Mark Field, Operations Manager at the club said “We are delighted with both the LCDs themselves and the service provided from Airwave.”

Channel Islands switchover bought forward

It has just been announced that Digital Television in the form of terrestrial Freeview transmissions will begin in a two stage process starting in November 2010 in the Channel Islands. Some hotels in Jersey have already heard the news and Airwave is currently installing digital LCDs in readiness for next year.

West Country goes Digital – are Hoteliers ready ?

Parts of Devon and Cornwall are being switched to digital starting as soon as 8th April 2009, with the last area being switched on the 12th August at the peak of the summer season. “We believe that many hoteliers are still unaware that their current analogue channels – BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 will not be available to their guests if they currently receive them in an analogue format” comments Paul Chambers, Sales and Marketing Director at Airwave.

What no BBC?

On Wednesday 25th March, the Rowridge transmitter is undergoing some major frequency changes which may result in some hotels losing their digital BBC channels unless televisions are re-tuned. “We are advising all our customers about this and helping to ensure their guests are not inconvenienced” said Gary Snell, Installations and Maintenance Manager at Airwave. Analogue channels are unaffected on this date, except for Channel Five which may disappear completely. This will affect hotels on the Isle of Wight and parts of Hampshire, East Dorset and West Sussex. See www.digitaluk.co.ukfor more details.

Sony promoted by MK Dons

The promotion-contending football team MK Dons has added a new dimension to its business by opening a new hotel at the ground, in which some of the rooms double as executive boxes during match days. They opted for top-end Sony Hotel TVs which were delivered by Airwave and installed with an IPTV system from the systems integrator, Digital Presence.

New Samsung hotel range to be announced

We understand that Samsung is about to launch a new range of Hotel Specific LCD televisions, with some exciting new features. For the first time in this sector, a manufacturer has adopted technology which enables reception of high definition digital terrestrial broadcasts, when transmissions start. More news about this next month.

Jersey’s Top Leisure Hotel goes to the Movies

The 286 room Merton Hotel in Jersey is upgrading its in-room entertainment by offering the latest movies to it guests on a complementary basis. James Grover, Sales Executive at Airwave explains “By doing this, the Merton is able provide great in-room entertainment on the occasional rainy day, and we are scheduling great selection of children’s, family and action movies for guests to enjoy”.

Airwave joins Premier League with LG

Airwave has been awarded Premier Partner status by the global electronics leader, LG. “We are very pleased to appoint Airwave as a Premier Partner for LG, confirming our belief in their ability to market and support our portfolio of hotel products cross the UK” comments Oliver East, ITV Manager at LG.