LodgeNet Links Travelers' Media Consumption Trends to Business Strategy and Solutions Offerings

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., Oct. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- LodgeNet Interactive Corporation (NASDAQ: LNET), the leading provider of interactive media and connectivity services to hospitality and healthcare businesses and the consumers they serve, today discussed emerging media consumption trends among travelers and commented on how the company's strategy incorporates those trends.

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Speaking at the 4th Annual LodgeNet Customer Technology Symposium in Chicago, company representatives cited internal and third-party research which reveals the following about how travelers are accessing content and interacting with media technologies inside and outside of hotel guest rooms:

• A LodgeNet survey of upscale travelers indicated that two-thirds of hotel guests perceive hotels that have interactive television as being superior, more innovative, and more modern than those that do not have the service.
• Guest usage of Envision, LodgeNet's new interactive HDTV platform, is three times that of the company's predecessor interactive HDTV platform, based on LodgeNet's internal usage tracking.
• Travelers are heavy consumers of media. The average hotel guest spends more than three hours a day watching TV in the guest room. This individual is also substantially more likely than the average U.S. consumer to watch movies frequently (either in a theater or on pay-per-view), look up directions or local information on a mobile device, and download podcasts from the Internet.
• LodgeNet premium video on demand (VOD) programming ranks as the fifth most-viewed entertainment channel, with only the broadcast networks and a premium cable channel being watched more.
• 60% of Hollywood movie content sold in hotels is in the "premium VOD" hotel window, which is generally 60 days before availability on DVD and up to 90 days before release to streaming services such as Netflix. A 2011 PricewaterhouseCoopers survey confirmed the value of this early window by noting that more than half of respondents ranked faster access to content as the most appealing feature of premium VOD.
• Local recommendations are highly valued. In a 2011 survey of travelers by Monitor Venture Services, more than 95% ranked local recommendations as important to them. The same survey also revealed that guests prefer to access that information on a TV.
• Only a small fraction of hotel guests (1.5%) connect their personal media devices to the in-room TV, and that usage rate has not changed appreciably over the past two years (based on 2009-2011 set-top box data; Nielsen measured).
• 40% of users aged 18-34 prefer to control their TV viewing experience with a smartphone or tablet, based on recent data from Altman Vilandrie & Company and Research Now. LodgeNet will be releasing its Mobile TV Control App by the end of this year.

"These studies portray a traveling media consumer whose expectations center on enjoying the content of their choice anytime, anywhere and on whatever device they have at hand," said Scott C. Petersen, Chairman & CEO for LodgeNet. "With Envision, we have delivered an interactive HDTV platform that creates a world-class entertainment and information experience while empowering hoteliers to integrate with their own apps and manage content on-site with our PowerPortal™ authoring tool. And, by combining Envision with the solutions from our LodgeNet Broadband division and the upcoming launch of our LodgeNet Mobile offering, we will finish this year with a 360-degree service offering that supports the full breadth of today's '4-screen' landscape and will offer travelers a range of features and functionality never seen before."  

About LodgeNet

LodgeNet Interactive Corporation is the leading provider of interactive media and connectivity services to hospitality and healthcare businesses and the consumers they serve. LodgeNet Interactive serves approximately 1.8 million hotel rooms worldwide in addition to healthcare facilities throughout the United States. The Company's services include: Interactive Television, Broadband, Mobile and Advertising Media Solutions along with nationwide technical and professional support services. LodgeNet Interactive Corporation owns and operates businesses under the industry leading brands: LodgeNet, The Hotel Networks and LodgeNet Healthcare. LodgeNet Interactive is listed on NASDAQ and trades under the symbol LNET. For more information, please visit www.lodgenet.com.  

LodgeNet, the LodgeNet logo, Envision, and PowerPortal are trademarks or registered trademarks of LodgeNet Interactive Corporation.

SOURCE LodgeNet Interactive Corporation