SONIFI is the biggest name in hotel in-room entertainment, built on installed infrastructure and enterprise agreements. Better Hotel delivers what guests actually notice, a personal welcome, their own streaming, casting from their phone and an always-current digital compendium, from one small device on each TV you already own.
Talk to us about your roomsSONIFI is the incumbent at scale: interactive TV, streaming and casting delivered as a managed installation, with deep roots in large branded hotels. That model works, and it costs like it. Better Hotel gets a property to the same guest outcome, personalised screens, streaming, casting, hotel information and PMS integration, with a device in the HDMI port of each existing TV, remote provisioning, one fleet dashboard, and no property-wide infrastructure. For independents, boutique groups and resorts, the difference in cost and rollout time is dramatic.
The traditional model treats in-room entertainment as infrastructure: equipment in every room, systems in the comms cupboard, an install crew, and an agreement that spans years. It suits large flagged properties with capital cycles built around exactly that.
Better Hotel treats it as software on a cheap device. The TVs stay, the network you have carries it, each room takes minutes, and the whole estate is managed from one dashboard with over-the-air updates. When you want to change something, you change it everywhere with a click, not a truck roll.
A plug-in guest TV platform on your existing screens:
A managed in-room entertainment installation:
| Consideration | Better Hotel No Infrastructure | SONIFI |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware model | HDMI device on the TVs you own | Installed per-room equipment |
| Property infrastructure | Your existing network only | Property-level installation |
| Deployment | Minutes per room, remotely provisioned | Scheduled professional install |
| Contract shape | No multi-year lock-in | Typically enterprise agreements |
| Personal welcome from the PMS | ✓ Guest name, dates, WiFi, checkout | ✓ PMS-integrated |
| Guest streaming & casting | ✓ Yes, cleared at checkout | ✓ Yes |
| Hotel information on screen | ✓ Digital compendium, always current | ✓ Info channels |
| Revenue from the screen | ✓ Your services and local partners | Varies by deployment |
| Fleet management | ✓ One dashboard, OTA updates | ✓ Managed service |
| Cost per room | A fraction of a traditional rollout | Enterprise pricing via sales |
| Best fit | Independents, boutiques, groups, resorts | Large flagged hotels with brand standards |
What earns the review is the TV greeting the guest by name, their Netflix working, casting from their own phone, and the WiFi password on screen instead of a laminated card. None of that requires property-wide infrastructure any more. Better Hotel delivers it on the TVs you own for a small fraction of a traditional per-room cost, and the home screen sells your restaurant, spa and late checkout while it does.
To be even-handed: SONIFI has the largest installed base in the industry, deep relationships with major brands, a managed-service model with enterprise support, and solutions for free-to-guest TV content at scale. If you run a large flagged property whose brand standards specify an approved entertainment vendor, or you need linear TV content deals bundled with the platform, SONIFI belongs on the shortlist. Better Hotel competes wherever a property has the freedom to choose and would rather not fund an infrastructure project to get a modern guest screen.
Get both numbers. Ask the incumbent for the full refresh quote, then tell us your room count and compare the per-room figure. For most independent and boutique properties, the plug-in model wins on cost, rollout speed and flexibility, and the guest cannot tell the difference except that the welcome screen has their name on it either way.
Tell us how many rooms you run and what system you have today, and we’ll come back with a rollout plan and a per-room cost worth comparing.
Talk to us about your rooms Explore Better HotelYes, for the guest-facing experience: personal welcome screens, streaming, casting, hotel information and PMS integration, delivered from a small device on your existing TVs rather than an installed enterprise system, at a fraction of the per-room cost.
No. Better Hotel runs from the HDMI port of the TVs you already have, over your existing network. There is no headend, no coax work and no hospitality-mode TV requirement.
Guests get streaming apps and casting, plus live TV options through the platform. If your property depends on bundled linear TV content deals, tell us during scoping and we will be straight about the right fit.
Devices are provisioned remotely and each room takes minutes: plug into HDMI, and the room appears in your dashboard. A whole floor is an afternoon, not a project plan.
SONIFI is the incumbent for large flagged hotels; Better Hotel is the plug-in alternative for everyone who would rather skip the infrastructure project. Also compare Better Hotel vs Enseo and BetterSTR TV vs LG Pro:Centric Stay, or see the full Better Hotel page.