Roku Hotel And Dorm Streaming

Home screen of Roku Player

We’ve been streaming our favorite Roku channels in hotel rooms for over a year now.  But we always had to use a mobile WiFi hotspot whenever establishing a networking connection.  This is great if we had 3G or 4G connectivity but sometimes it was difficult streaming our programs when the signal strength failed to exceed two bars.  That all changed a few months ago when Roku added a new feature in the network settings of Roku devices, called hotel and dorms connect.

Hotel and dorm streaming does require password authentication from room occupants, usually last name and room number, before you can join the private network of whatever property you are staying.  Our team was able to survey this cool feature at a number of different hotel properties in the United States and Europe.  We were at mercy to the hotels WiFi speeds on all occasions but got pretty good results with the hotel and dorm streaming feature overall.  The setup process is as follows:

1. Insert your Roku Player into one of the HDMI ports behind or on the side of the TV in your hotel or dorm.  This could be a little tricky depending on the make and model of the TV.  Plus, some hotels may mount their TV on the wall making it impossible to use any of the media I/Os on the rear.  Below we use a Roku Stick shown inserted into the rear and side HDMI ports of an HDTV at several hotels.  You can also download this tutorial for future reference.

HDMI ports are generally on the side or back of HDTVs. A Roku Stick in various hotel TVs.

2. To get to the home screen of your Roku Player you are going to manually press the “Input” button on the side or bottom of your TV so that the onscreen menu populates.  Once the menu appears press again to arrive at the corresponding HDMI port you are using.  The usual display is HDMI1, HDMI2 and so on.  Newer HDTV’s and Ultra HD / 4K models have four or five port.

Settings screen

3. Scroll up to settings then right to network.

Network tab on your Roku screen.

3. Click network and you will arrive at the Wireless (Wi-Fi) screen.

Wireless (Wi-Fi) screen with your network settings.

4. Scroll right to set up new Wi-Fi connection then click on it.  The network name for hotel and dorm streaming will appear.

Network name for hotel and dorm streaming

5. Click on the network name and it will begin making a connection to your Roku Player.  The player can be a Roku Stick as shown here, but also a Roku 4 / 4K, Roku 3, Roku 2, or Roku RT.

Making the connection to...

6. Once internet connection is made you will be prompted to select hotel or college dorm by pressing the ok button on your remote.

Select appropriate option when displayed

7. On the next screen you will use your smartphone, tablet or computer to enter the required information.  The wireless network will show your Roku Player similar to #2 in the screen shot below.  It will cancel out if not entered in a timely manner.  A good practice is to connect your mobile device or computer first so you will already be logged on to the network for hotel and dorm streaming.

Hotel and dorm connect on screen instructions for completing the setup.

8. Once you're connected to the network your Roku Player will populate.  Click on it to complete the setup by entering the password from step #7 on your screen.

Smartphone showing secured Roku Player on network.

9. Enter the password for your Roku Player then click Join to begin streaming your favorite channels.

Secure password entered.

10. Your hotel and dorm streaming begins once the below screen appears.  You can immediately press the home button on your Roku remote and begin watching all channels that were previously added to your device or add new ones.

Status shown as connected

Some hotels and dorms have sophisticated entertainment software.  Switching around or unplugging a few cables may be all it takes to get your Roku Player up and running.  When at a hotel you should remember that you are a guest and the hotel guest managers are usually willing to do whatever to keep you happy.  On one of our setups at a hotel in Prague we called the front desk and asked for the engineer to assist us with a television issue.  After explain to the engineer what we were trying to do, he obliged.  He left for a few moments the returned with a special remote and programmed a designated channel just for viewing our Roku Player for the remainder of our stay.  And all we had to do was ask.  Be sure to tip the guy or gal since this not something they are required to do.

Let us know if these directions work for you while you're on the road and wish to access your media on the go.  Cheers!