Gone are the days of spending exorbitant prices on movies or shows while staying in hotels, as Apple is finally rolling out AirPlay to specific properties across North America.
Apple announced the news in an internal blog post on Thursday, highlighting the potential of leveraging AirPlay for streaming varied content from the best iPhones and Apple devices, including Apple TV Plus shows, like “Sugar,” Apple Music, Apple Arcade games, and many more.
The rollout corrals a total of 60 venues under IHG Hotels and Resorts, which owns a variety of the most well-known spaces, like Candlewood Suites, InterContinental, Kimpton, and more. You can find a full list of North American IHG Hotels and Resorts properties with Apple AirPlay connectivity on the associated website.
How to use Apple AirPlay in your vacation suite
To leverage AirPlay in your hotel, you’ll have to first scan a QR code on your in-suite TV screen. This will automatically connect your compatible Apple iPhone or iPad to the LG TV in your room as well as the hotel’s WiFi. Following this process, you should be able to then stream all of your favorite content across a wide range of platforms and services.
Every individual hotel room will have its own unique QR code, meaning you can sleep easy knowing your content will only be available within that room and TV. Following checkout, the Apple AirPlay to TV connection is fully erased, which ensures your watch history and device information remains private.
This new Apple AirPlay function in IHG Hotels and Resorts requires an iPhone X or later on iOS 17.3 software, plus specific iPads, including sixth gen or later on the main build, fifth gen iPad Minis or later, third gen iPad Airs or later, and both first gen iPad Pros or later, running at least iPadOS 17.3. Thus, don’t expect to utilize any of the best iPads if they aren’t up to date or on the list.
This new Apple AirPlay function in IHG Hotels and Resorts requires an iPhone X or later on iOS 17.3 software, plus specific iPads, including sixth gen or later on the main build, fifth gen iPad Minis or later, third gen iPad Airs or later, and both first gen iPad Pros or later, running at least iPadOS 17.3. Thus, don’t expect to utilize any of the best iPads if they aren’t up to date or on the list.
While only 60 IHG properties will be getting the Apple AirPlay injection today, more are coming in the next several months. While it’s unclear at this time, alternative hotels and resorts beyond the IHG banner might move to add Apple’s AirPlay feature as time goes on to draw in additional guests and events.
