The baby boomer generation is changing the way senior living properties operate. Not only are these individuals more independent and tech-savvy then their historical counterparts, but they’re also living longer. According to the Social Security Administration, a man who turns 65 today will live to be 84 on average, and a woman who turns 65 today will live to be 86.5.
These numbers make it clear that the senior living industry needs to update its approach because its clientele’s lifestyles, interests, and expectations are changing significantly. Senior living communities should consider embracing technology; residents want to access their multiple mobile devices, high-speed Internet, and streaming entertainment wherever they live.
In the age of Netflix, high-definition television, and Wi-Fi, video presents a tremendous opportunity to make your residents feel right at home in your senior living community. If your property has been relying on the same television solution for several years or longer, upgrading to a new system can go a long way toward delighting your residents by increasing their comfort and giving them more high-quality entertainment options.
Not sure if your property needs a new video solution? Here are three signs that might indicate it is time for your senior living community to consider searching for a new video provider.
1. You are tired of the billing surprises you encounter every month with your cable provider
It is not uncommon for property administrators to get a full understanding of their cable bill to appropriately budget for expenses, only to receive a new bill that has increased its rate or charged its services differently.
According to a recent report, 69 percent of customers say they’ve encountered unexpected fees on their cable bills in the last two years. In addition to renting the provider’s set-top boxes, remotes, and modems, there’s a seemingly endless amount of hidden charges the average senior living property can expect to see buried at the bottom of their bills—franchise fees, DVR fees, broadcast TV fees, regional sports surcharges, and more.
Instead of dealing with these fluctuating prices, you may be better off partnering with a provider that bills at a more consistent rate each month. As an added benefit, with the right partner in place, you can save costs with a receiverless HD solution, which eliminates the need to rent a set-top box for every resident’s room.
2. You need a solution that delivers HD video without requiring significant in-room equipment
Your guests don’t want their rooms to be cluttered with equipment just to watch television. Additionally, properly maintaining a large amount of equipment can take up a significant portion of your maintenance staff’s time.
The newest video solutions enable you to deliver HD channels to your residents without having to put a set-top box in every room. Not only does this make each guest’s living area more spacious and aesthetically pleasing, it saves your maintenance staff time because of remote monitoring and configuration capabilities.
In most cases, the provider’s technicians should be able to prevent outages before they occur by detecting anomalies in the system. In the event systems go offline, the provider can work quickly to bring them back online from any connected device. It’s a much more efficient approach than sending a technician to each resident to fix the television setup, particularly at larger properties.
3. You are looking for a provider that knows what your property needs and brings technical expertise to the table
There are many different things to consider when implementing a new video solution into a senior living community, such as what specific video package works best for your property, which technologies to use (e.g., Wi-Fi or hard-wiring), and how much in-room equipment you need.
By partnering with the right vendor, your property gets the peace of mind that comes with knowing that a dedicated team of experts will help you design, install, and implement your new system. The right provider will customize a solution that provides residents with an efficient and intuitive system that’s easy to manage and offers personalization capabilities such as the ability to add premium channels on a room-by-room basis and an in-house community channel.
It’s also important to look for a vendor that has the technical expertise to install a video solution that can grow as your community grows or needs change. A video solution that is flexible and scalable to your property can save money in the long-term when you need to upgrade your system in the future.
Beyond that, the ideal partner can provide ongoing 24/7 support so that your residents always have access to their favorite programming. If your senior living facility has relied on the same video provider for years, it may be time to reconsider your options.
Moving to a provider with the most up-to-date video solutions is one step to transforming the resident experience while reducing clutter and making it easier to predict your bill each month, leaving more room in your budget for other property priorities.
