This Week in Hilton History
In 1947, The Roosevelt Hilton in New York City became the first hotel in the world to install televisions in guest rooms. Dean Carpenter, at the time the hotel’s general manager, initially introduced televisions to 40 of the rooms on property. The television sets were powered through the “Hotelevision” system, where programs on the air were picked up by the central monitor on the premises and pre-screened for perfection in visual and sound reception before being transmitted to the individual rooms. Guests using the television were charged $3 per day extra for the service. Browse the photos, including a 1970s hotel ad from the former Indianapolis Hilton, which boasted color television among other features available to guests at the time.