Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
To keep this discussion going...when did most hotels get flat screens and/or HDTV?
My parents stayed in a hotel (affiliated with a upscale French chain) in downtown Minneapolis with flat screen TVs in 2004. When a new downtown hotel here got them around 2005-6, it was something of a big deal. I stayed in a local motel in 2010 with flat screen TVs, but I believe they were wired to a standard analog cable system without high definition channels. I see that a lot...LCD TVs obviously capable of high-definition resolutions but only hooked up to standard-definition, standard aspect-ratio video sources.
Conrad Hilton purchased the Roosevelt in 1943 calling her "a fine hotel with grand spaces" and even though he eventually owned many other hotels in New York, including The Plaza and The Waldorf Astoria, he chose the Roosevelt's Presidential Suite as his home. In 1947, the Roosevelt became the first hotel to have a television set in every room. (This has been extracted from Wikipedia)
Conrad Hilton purchased the Roosevelt in 1943 calling her "a fine hotel with grand spaces" and even though he eventually owned many other hotels in New York, including The Plaza and The Waldorf Astoria, he chose the Roosevelt's Presidential Suite as his home. In 1947, the Roosevelt became the first hotel to have a television set in every room. (This has been extracted from Wikipedia)
This would make sense as New York City even as early as 1947 had many local stations that were already on the air. Meanwhile I would imagine in some large cities TV in motels/hotels would be common place later into the mid 50s since some cities had to make do with just one VHF station for the longest time. New Orleans & Pittsburgh would be examples of that.
TV's were common in the early 60's in the chains such as Holiday Inn. I remember being surprised when around 1964, my family stayed in a mom and pop motel in Appalachia. The only TV was in the small lobby.
In the 80s sometime, motels started offering HBO to distinguish them from those that didn't. These days, if they were smart, they'd be offering Netflix.
In the 80s sometime, motels started offering HBO to distinguish them from those that didn't. These days, if they were smart, they'd be offering Netflix.
I can remember when motels had first started offering HBO. My hometown was actually in the reverse though only that the local motels would offer Showtime instead. It was a win-win for the motels because the local cable would not offer that channel and their sister The Movie Channel until well into the late 1990s. Actually for a brief time in the early 80s the motels actually had a good number a locals checking in just to view Showtime. Reason being was that in the early 80s HBO/Cinemax and Showtime/The Movie Channel were in a bitter feud with each other due to the channels making exclusive deals with some major Hollywood studios. HBO I believe made a deal with Columbia Pictures while Showtime got Paramount. All of this came ahead with the Paramount movie "Flashdance". If you just had HBO and wanted to see that movie..well too bad for you !! Holiday Inn in early 1984 I can recall had blanketed the town with a massive photo of the star of the movie Jennifer Beals on billboards wearing her sexy sweatshirt with the words "..You won't see me on HBO...stay at Holiday Inn and catch me on Showtime !!. Yes VCRs were around in 1984 but they were still a bit expensive for the average family. Cheaper in those days just to rent a room at the Holiday Inn down the street and watch the movie plus get access to their pool/hot tub too as a bonus.
Last edited by tantan1968; 05-02-2016 at 08:57 PM..
Looking at various postcards can be a good way to determine the state of what hotels offered at a certain time. For example, based upon this postcard, by 1973, most Motel 6's offered TVs. They probably were in B&W though. I'd say after that point it was pretty much unheard for a franchised chain to not have a TV, even if some boutique/indies still didn't offer them. Many older postcards/brochures would mention "television lounge" which are those who only have a TV in the lobby.
Another question is when hotels/motels start offering RADIO. For example, this late 1940s-era postcard from a Route 66 hotel mentions radio as what is offered in rooms. It was also one of the earlier ones to offer air conditioning for a hotel of its class. I'd assume sometime in the '20s (though perhaps a luxury one like Waldorf-Astoria or The Plaza maybe sooner?)
With so many people today between cutting the cord and those who proudly scream they they do not watch TV nor listen to the radio..gotta wonder how long will it be before the motel/hotel chains will no longer offer a TV in every room ?? Kinda like a family member who sells new cars was telling me recently. He was saying to me that he is seeing more and more people who no longer want a radio in their cars. Wouldn't surprise me at all if there are those who fell the same way about TV's in motel/hotel rooms. They don't want them. Besides isn't this one reason why Bed & breakfasts are so popular ??
As for TVs, I can vaguelly remember the mid level chains in the 1970s boasting their rooms had TVs. My guess is that TVs did not become pretty much a standard item in a hotel room until the early to mid 1980s.
Some of you are so way off I have wonder what kind of dives you stayed in.
My family was pretty thrift, but when we traveled I can definitely remember televisions in pretty much all motels we stayed in, at least by 1959. Admittedly, a few were pay -- 25 cents -- for I think a half hour. But I honestly don't ever remember a motel without a television when we went on 2 month-long vacations in 1959 and 1960.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
