AT&T Hotel TV Interface
Overview
In 2018, I worked with a lead designer, Ian Wood, to redesign DIRECTV’s old hotel system into “Hotel TV,” a more flexible, guest-friendly platform. I designed an interactive prototype in Principle, which opened a new revenue stream for AT&T and was featured at HITEC, a major hospitality tech conference. The final design was a scalable B2B interface that updated the in-room experience without new hardware, while allowing hotels to add their own branding and launch it easily.
https://directvaep.com/
Prototype of Interaction designed in Principle
System Audit
To create a scalable and effective design solution tailored for the hospitality industry, I began by conducting a comprehensive audit of DIRECTV’s two primary content delivery systems used in hotel environments. This deep dive helped me understand the technical structure, user flow, and integration capabilities of each platform.
DIRECTV Residential Experience – An in-room TV system offering 100+ HD channels through a simple, home-like interface that works for any property size without extra equipment.
COM3000 Headend System – A compact central system that securely delivers up to 138 HD channels to all rooms. It saves space, uses less power, and works without connecting to a property’s management software.
DIRECTV Residential Experience Audit
I audited the legacy platform, which offered basic Live TV and property info but lacked clear navigation, branding flexibility, and visual structure. I modernized the experience by keeping key features while adding OTT integration, faster Live TV access, customizable settings, and a cleaner, brand-aligned design.
Competitive Audit
I audited Marriott, Samsung, and IPTV interfaces to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, which shaped our design direction. Common issues included cluttered layouts, over-categorization, poor spacing, outdated visuals, and missing service previews—pointing to a need for a cleaner, more intuitive interface that highlights key services and supports hotel branding.
Marriott: Sleek design and clear navigation, but hotel info is buried under “Discover” and lacks service previews.
IPTV: Bright visuals and quick app access, but cluttered with duplicates and tight spacing.
Samsung Hilton XP: Organized layout with logical grouping, but feels outdated, wastes space, and lacks interaction feedback.
User Research & Findings
I ran internal testing with the research team, refining the prototype based on the test script and feedback from users familiar with hotel TV systems. The results were positive and revealed key insights:
They desired to utilize their personal app accounts.
Users preferred a home-like TV experience (traditional Guide)
Their viewing habits differ between home and hotel environments.
They wanted a richer hotel TV experience with weather updates, streaming apps (when available), and easy channel access.
UX Goals
UX Documentation
I created a two-part framework: a customizable App Launcher for hotel room apps and a Live TV App with a guide and video player. I defined UX specs detailing flows and interactions for developers and provided a style guide for hotels to customize the launcher.
UI Design Iterations
I iterated on and tested multiple design layouts and navigation patterns to determine the most intuitive and remote-friendly experience.
Final UI
Based on research insights, I chose this design for the App Launch Screen with a few key updates. The final UI is a clean, modular home screen for hotel guests—featuring a branded welcome message, date, time, weather, and a customizable background. Core actions like Live TV, On Demand, Guest Services, and My Events are presented as large, remote-friendly tiles. The layout is easy to navigate, visually clear, and adaptable across hotel brands, while staying aligned with DIRECTV’s updated design system.
Live TV Application Key Screens:
Conclusion
The modular design system became the foundation for DIRECTV’s AEP rollout across hospitality clients in 2018-2019, streamlining implementation across property types and enabling scalable deployment. Key outcomes included the following:
Hotel setup time reduced by 50% through the use of modular templates and a simplified deployment process
3x increase in property adoption across boutique and large-chain hotels within 12 months
+37% improvement in guest satisfaction (measured via in-room survey scores focused on ease of use)
Hotel TV is available for commercial businesses to purchase through https://directvaep.com/