Google Cast

Google Cast is coming to more hotel room TVs later this year

Ben Schoon | Jun 24 2024 - 7:31 am PT

Google Cast, perhaps better known as Chromecast, makes it pretty easy to get content from virtually any device onto a TV and, soon, it’s coming to more hotel rooms.

The Google Cast standard, recently re-rebranded from “Chromecast,” allows for TVs to accept input wirelessly from smartphones, tablets, and laptops whether they’re running Android, iOS, Windows, ChromeOS, or macOS. It does this, in a simplified manner of speaking, by handing off the video feed from a certain type of app or website and passing that along to the TV or device connected to the TV. It works fairly well, and the standard has become widely available over the years.

In hotel rooms, though, finding Google Cast is fairly hit or miss.

Announced this week, more LG TVs in hotel rooms will be adding support for Google Cast. This will come via new software provided by SONIFI, a company specializing in “hospitality technology.” LG TVs in hotel rooms will be equipped with Google Cast, allowing users to connect to their TV and cast any compatible apps (YouTube, Disney+, Max, etc) using a QR code to pair. This will be integrated with SONIFI’s existing “STAYCAST” platform which allows users to sign into apps on the TV and have the apps sign out upon the end of the stay (check out).

SONIFI’s solution is in place in over 500,000 hotel rooms across the globe, with support for Google Cast being deployed starting in “Fall” 2024, including Hyatt hotels in particular.

LG TVs also now support Google Cast for consumer TVs as well.

This also comes as Apple has locked down deals to bring AirPlay to hotel rooms. And while that’s all well and good for Apple users, AirPlay is a standard that doesn’t work on any device without an Apple stamp on the back, where Google Cast is as close to universal as we have today.