Commerce Media is Generating Real Revenues for Hotels

For years, hoteliers treated advertising in the guestroom almost like a four-letter word. We worried that guests would consider it intrusive. We worried that advertising would cheapen the experience. And we assumed that, especially in upscale and luxury hotels, guests wanted their rooms to remain advertising-free.

Guess what? Our guests didn't agree with us.

As hotel owners and operators build their strategies for 2027, it’s time to rethink what advertising means inside a hotel. Done poorly, advertising is clutter. Done well, it is relevant content, a recommendation, a convenience and, increasingly, a meaningful new source of revenue.

The distinction is relevance.

HCN recently surveyed 179 guests at a luxury hotel in downtown Chicago about their experience with sponsored content delivered through in-room tablets. The findings challenge some long-held assumptions. Ninety-seven percent described the advertising as relevant and non-intrusive, or were neutral. Ninety-five percent found the sponsored content engaging or interesting. Seventy-seven percent said the content added value to their stay, and 29 percent reported engaging with or acting on an offer or promotion.

Those numbers should get the attention of every hotel owner looking for incremental revenue in 2027.

The Guestroom Is Valuable Media Real Estate

Hotels have spent decades learning how to monetize nearly every physical asset. We monetize guestrooms, meeting rooms, restaurants, bars, spas, parking, and retail space. We have not consistently monetized guest attention. That may be one of the most valuable assets in the building.

Consider the moment: A guest is already at the destination. They may be deciding where to have dinner, what attraction to visit, how to get somewhere, what show to see, whether to order breakfast, whether to upgrade, or what product or service they might need during the trip. This is not someone scrolling mindlessly through hundreds of ads at home. This is a consumer with immediate needs and the ability to act.

That is the premise behind commerce media. Advertising becomes far more valuable when it connects to context, intent, and the ability to transact. And the broader advertising market is moving quickly in this direction.

McKinsey & Co. noted earlier this year that commerce media networks now extend beyond traditional retailers into industries including travel and hospitality, with advertisers attracted by their ability to connect media exposure to purchasing behavior.

Hospitality is beginning to recognize the opportunity.

Marriott launched Marriott Media in 2025, using Marriott Bonvoy data and the company's global hotel portfolio to connect brands with travelers across digital and physical touchpoints. Today, Marriott Media describes itself as a travel advertising platform that reaches consumers throughout the journey, including via in-room screens and other on-property channels.

That is important validation of the concept. But another opportunity extends beyond a single hotel brand.

Think Network, Not Hotel

HCN's Commerce Media Network is built to operate across hotels, brands, markets, and geographies. Following HCN's acquisition of Crave Interactive, we now operate the largest global network of smart hotel tablets and mobile solutions, with reach across North and South America, Europe, and the Middle East.

That scale changes the conversation.

A single hotel may have valuable guest attention. Thousands of rooms connected through a common platform create media inventory that national and global advertisers can buy at scale.

For advertisers, the opportunity is not simply a screen sitting on a nightstand. It is verified physical placement combined with hospitality context and commercial proximity. The guest considering dinner, entertainment, transportation, shopping, or an experience is a near-term buyer.

For hotels, the model can turn something traditionally viewed as a marketing expense into a revenue-producing asset. And the potential numbers are substantial.

Here are the modeled economics for a 500-room, four-star Boston-based hotel operating at 78 percent occupancy. Using best practices established by our current clients, we estimate $257,645.96 in annual net revenue impact, or $515.29 per room per year. Over three years, that could grow to $772,937.87.

Importantly, that money does not come from advertising alone.

The model projects $148,680 annually from incremental operating revenue and savings, including room service, restaurant dining, breakfast, ticketing for events and excursions, housekeeping opt-outs, and room upgrades. Another $108,965.96 comes from advertising, including $24,637.50 in meetings-related advertising and $84,328.46 through the broader ad network.

That equates to approximately $21,470 in incremental value every month from one hotel, based on our model, which uses established results amalgamated across all of our client hotels.

Multiply that opportunity across a portfolio, and commerce media stops looking like an advertising experiment and starts looking like a revenue strategy. Even without advertising, the impact on a hotel’s bottom line is material and delivers a payout substantially higher than the cost of integrating our tablets.

Guests Have Already Voted

The biggest concern I keep hearing is: Will guests tolerate advertising in the room? I think we are asking the wrong question.

Guests do not dislike advertising simply because it is advertising. They dislike irrelevant or intrusive advertising. And with HCN’s platform, we have created a non-intrusive and subtle medium that finds the balance between maximizing revenue opportunities while maintaining extremely high guest satisfaction.

A recommendation for a nearby restaurant at 5:30 p.m. may be useful. An offer for tickets to a show taking place that evening may solve a problem. A breakfast promotion the night before departure may be convenient. A carefully selected consumer brand that fits the travel experience can introduce something the guest genuinely wants.

HCN's Chicago findings support that distinction. Even more telling, HCN reported that its tablets delivered 199 million ads in 2025 with only two complaints.

That is not an argument for filling guestrooms with ads. Quite the opposite. It is an argument for using data, timing, context, and strict brand controls to make advertising better.

Hotels must remain the gatekeeper. Operators need the ability to determine which categories and campaigns are appropriate for their guests and their brands. Too many messages or irrelevant promotions can quickly destroy trust. The objective is disciplined monetization, not screen spam.

Another reason this conversation matters heading into 2027 is this. Hotel owners are under pressure to find revenue wherever it makes economic sense, without simply raising room rates or adding fees guests resent. Commerce media offers a different approach because it monetizes an asset the hotel already possesses—access to a highly engaged traveler during the stay.

The same platform can simultaneously promote the hotel's own restaurants, upgrades, experiences, and services while creating inventory for outside advertisers. That is why I believe we are approaching a fundamental change in how hoteliers think about the digital guestroom.

The in-room tablet should no longer be viewed simply as an amenity or another piece of technology that must somehow justify its cost. When deployed properly, it becomes a commercial operating platform that connects guest services, hotel merchandising, e-commerce, and advertising.

HCN's financial model puts the opportunity into perspective. In the 500-room example, advertising represents about 42 percent of the modeled annual impact, while operating revenue and savings account for approximately 58 percent.

That balance matters. Commerce media is not about replacing hospitality with advertising. It is about using the same digital touchpoint to make hospitality more convenient while creating revenue at the same time.

For years, hoteliers worried that putting advertising in front of guests would diminish the experience. The data is telling us something different.

When the content is relevant, timely, and useful, guests engage with it. Advertisers gain access to consumers at an unusually valuable point in the purchase journey. Hotels gain incremental revenue. And guests receive information and offers that can actually improve the stay.

As we head into 2027, advertising should no longer be a four-letter word in hospitality. It should be part of the revenue plan.