Guestroom v.2028. ch.1 What's going on?
Guestroom of the future. Okay, not the future/future - teleporting to the multi-verse or zip-lining the lunar crater Aristoteles; definitely on my bucket list. This is the guestroom of the near future, say within the next 3-5 years. This 12-part series has little to do with what a future guestroom looks like but is all about security, sustainability, and service.
The guestroom v.2028 won’t look like a Sickbay in Star Trek or the International Space Station’s Axiom Module, already designed by Philippe Starck. Besides, Disney’s got the whole ‘Space Suite’ concept locked up with their new Star Wars-themed hotel at Walt Disney World. Instead, the guestroom v.2028 will be intuitive and adaptable, meeting a guest’s every need. Well, almost every need.
Guestroom v.2028 ch.2 Getting there.
Touch on the Hotel’s app: “Request Transport”, and an Apple Car® (driverless electric pod) will arrive in moments. Okay, Apple Car has pushed back the release date to 2026, but dozens of other manufacturers are working on the tech. The Hotel’s fleet of these autonomous driving EV Town Cars will be integrated into the Hotel’s AI Guest Management system.
While attending a lunch (seeming to drag on forever), your mobile device provides an alert: “given current traffic conditions, you should leave within two minutes to make your 3:30 PM meeting back at the hotel”. Simultaneously, the hotel’s autonomous EV Town Car pulls up from the restaurant. Sorry, that whole Beyonce ‘stuck in traffic enroute to the Grammy’s’ won’t cut it anymore.
Guestroom v.2028 ch.3 Checking in
That whole hotel check-in thing will be long gone. You will have already selected your room via the virtual reality VR suite selector, and all travel details ironed out between your assistant AI and the hotel’s AI to pre-arrange your pillow preference, lavender-infused soy-based soap you love so much, and preset room temperature of 71.5° with 42% humidity.
Hotel security will be paramount in the future. Arriving at the hotel, biometric facial and voice recognition and DNA personal identification system will be recorded. Biometric-triggered advertising in the hotel lobby, elevators, and in-room marketing will be personalized. C’mon, did you think you would escape algorithms? These systems are already in beta testing.
Guestroom v.2028 ch.4 The Lobby
The lobby experience will either be a virtual reality/shapeshifting multi-dimensional kind of thing or it will be more of a hybrid workspace /Starbucks /people-watching gallery. Whatever it is, it will clearly define the hotel’s position in the marketplace. I don’t think there’s any doubt about the experience sought with Disney’s Star Wars-themed hotel at Walt Disney World.
Experience Design (nicknamed the ‘ah-shit’ principle by my mentor and hospitality legend Michael Bedner of HBA) will pre-program these intentional experiences in the lobby's design. The Biophilia design movement has recently claimed experiential design as a new area of interior design, but come on; hospitality designers have been developing intentional experiences for decades.
Ironically, the lobby pictured is shape-shifting! At Marriott’s HQ in Bethesda, Maryland, their lobby is in a continuous beta-testing state, constantly improving and testing new ideas.
‘Caption’ by Hyatt Hotels is one of the best examples of hybrid work/lounge I’ve seen. It’s a helluva lot better than many so-called hybrid offices out there! The Caption Lobby is part restaurant, coffee shop, bar, and communal workspace. Talk Shop is an all-day hangout for everything needed and craved says Hyatt.
Guestroom v.2028 ch.5 Door Stop
Facial recognition unlocks your guestroom door by guiding the way to your guestroom via your mobile device’s GPS-enabled way finder program. No more door peepholes! Facial recognition will be the new norm in association with smart bracelets. MagicBand+ allows Disney Resort guests to use these wearable accessories to access the parks, attractions, rooms, and more, all while conveniently billed to your credit card.
Nuvola, in partnership with Kairos, is one of the first hospitality software companies in the U.S. to offer facial recognition technology, creating a unique, AI-backed solution that expedites and personalizes a guest’s experience from check-in to check-in to departure.
Your smart luggage will coordinate with the smart closet, and personal items are ozonated and arranged on magnetic hangers. I don’t know how this will work – we’ll leave the details to Samsonite or Rimowa to figure out.
Guestroom v.2028 ch.6 Thru the looking glass.
Virtually every guestroom on the planet is laid out with a television directly across from the bed. Wow. It’s incredibly dull when you come to think of it! The first tectonic shift in guestroom design occurred when old tube TVs were replaced with flat TVs. Where did those bulky old armoires go? The next shift is quietly happening as more people watch programs on portable devices and monitors become portable.
In 2010, Microsoft released a promo video: ‘Productivity Future Vision’, that predicted panels unfold and magnetically attached to walls, ceilings, showers, or wherever you want to watch Netflix, Apple+, or whatever streaming service you subscribe to. In addition to these foldable mobile monitors, OLED diodes embedded in the window glazing turn the entire window surface into a movie screen or Zoom call.
Imagine watching the movie Avatar in your suite at Toronto’s recent outpost of the 1 Hotel brand. 1 Hotel is 100% Certified Carbon Neutral; all properties are LEED certified.
Guestroom v.2028 ch.7 A Clear Choice
The UN Climate Change ‘Race To Zero’ is a global campaign to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions, and investors for a healthy, resilient, zero-carbon recovery that prevents future threats, creates decent jobs, and unlocks inclusive, sustainable growth. Marriott, among other global hospitality brands, has officially signed on to the "Race to Zero," a global campaign rallying companies, cities, regions, and financial and educational institutions, to reach net-zero value chain greenhouse gas emissions.
Speaking of glazing, this single most significant exterior surface material of a hotel or resort property will soon incorporate transparent solar cells into the window surface. Combined with rooftop solar panels, transparent solar cells could provide up to 100% of the property’s energy, according to manufacturer Ubiquitous Energy of California.
Much could be said about the extraordinary andBeyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge, Namib-Naukluft Park, Namibia, Namibia. Sophisticated, environment-friendly design solutions support uncompromised luxury in a climate of extremes. It is the very harshness of the desert environment that has been harnessed to power these impact initiatives.
Guestroom v.2028 ch.8 Quality Air
Guestroom cleanness will be of utmost importance. Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) is designed for use in occupied rooms without protective clothing; upper-room UVGI uses wall-mounted and ceiling-suspended, louvered/shielded UVGI fixtures to confine the germicidal radiation to the entire room. The Ritz Carleton Nomad NYC is imagined with this system.
The second method is the use of robots. Hospitals are already using UV-C autonomous robots with 99.99% efficacy. UV-C light is also used within the guestroom’s on-demand heating and cooling system, removing virtually all contaminants. Positive air pressure ensures outside air won’t enter the guestroom, which is especially important on cruise ships.
The UN Climate Change ‘Race To Zero’ is a global campaign to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions, and investors for a healthy, resilient, zero-carbon recovery that prevents future threats, creates decent jobs, and unlocks inclusive, sustainable growth. Marriott has officially signed on to the "Race to Zero," a global campaign rallying companies, cities, regions, and financial and educational institutions, to reach net-zero value chain greenhouse gas emissions.
Consider the staggering, yes staggering, amount of energy wasted in all those resorts in the tropics and desert locations. Room after room churning out AC. If you’re like me, I arrive in a hot, stuffy guestroom, crank the AC, then leave for the pool knowing the room will be decent when I return. A study conducted by Building Performance Institute Europe shows that building automation can reduce energy consumption by a whopping 23%-27%.
Remember earlier when I mentioned in my guest profile that I prefer my room to be at a temperature of 71.5° with 42% humidity? The same facial recognition software that bombarded me with personalized ads in the elevator also knows it takes 4 minutes and 42 seconds to travel from the main elevator lobby to my room. The on-demand HVAC blasts the room in time for me to arrive comfortably and returns to idle when the room is unoccupied. Facial recognition software improves on the existing card-based guestroom management systems.
Guestroom v.2028 ch.9 Scrub-a-Dub-Dub
Bathrooms will be far more anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and self-cleaning. Fixtures will be motion-activated and voice-activated, and lab-grade anti-microbial surfaces like copper and soapstone will be used. The interior of the guest bathroom will have smooth surfaces, with recessed or flush fixtures, eliminating crevasses that hide mold, mildew, and guck.
Showers will provide beneficial functions with infused vapor, steam, red light therapy, and an assortment of other healthful benefits. Self-sanitizing voice-activated toilets, already available on the market, will be utilized. UV-C lights are a simple addition to sanitizing guest bathrooms.
When designing fitness center showers, every inch has to be scrubbable by a pressure washer. By using this waterproof methodology, future guest bathrooms will be self-cleaning. Okay, this might be on the ten-year horizon! Wastewater heat recovery units extract energy from the shower drain.
Guestroom v.2028 ch.10 Trash Talk
Did you know if you place a fiver and a handwritten note on your unmade bed requesting additional shampoo and lotion, you’ll find half a dozen more when you return? Housekeeping is grateful for the tip (you should be tipping your housekeeper anyway), but after a week’s stay at the resort, you’ll have amassed a tall kitchen bag’s worth of mainly used plastic bottles. Travel Agent Central states, “Many of these toiletries are scooped up by chambermaids, thrown into bin bags, and sent off to landfill sites,"
Brands like Marriott are leading in reducing single-use plastics, including replacing tiny, single-use toiletry bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and bath gel in guestroom showers with larger pump-topped bottles. This is part of more significant initiatives on plastic elimination, carbon-neutral buildings, food waste, and energy consumption.
Sensible hotel brands have switched to refillable bottles, but even these pose a contamination risk. Recessed motion-sensor soap and lotion dispensers will become the new norm. Towelettes, infused with shower wash, shampoo, and conditioner, will dissolve after each use, like Tide PODS®. Dyson’s QuickDry® turns the shower into a mini warm hurricane with enormous savings for guestroom linen use.
Guestroom v.2028 ch.11 Menu on the App
Room service in the Guestroom v.2028 is entirely different. I remember a colleague describing when she ordered room service at the Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris. A Butler came to her guestroom door and asked what she would like from room service. She asked for a menu, and he responded, “what would you like to have?” I don’t know if she was pulling my leg or if it’s an urban myth, but the concept of unlimited menu offerings will likely happen in the guestroom v.2028.
Guestroom-sized TurboChef reheating units (every Starbucks uses them) will rapidly re-thermalize pre-packaged meals in a jiffy. Although in their infancy, beverage dispensers like Bartesian Cocktail Maker will be able to dispense my bone-dry gin martini or your cabernet right in the room. Nespresso and Keurig will come out with mini One-Touch espressos, cappuccinos, and lattes within seconds, all with fully compostable pods and packaging of course.
Speaking of packaging, everything disposable within the guestroom is made of next-generation entirely compostable material manufactured out of plant-based materials, such as vegetable starches, wood pulp, lactic acid, or soy proteins with the goal of zero-waste.
Guestroom v.2028 ch.12 Future Thinking.
The future of guestroom design will likely involve a greater emphasis on security, sustainability, and service.
A future guestroom design will incorporate advanced technologies such as biometric access control, smart locks, and integrated security systems. These technologies can help ensure that only authorized individuals can enter the guestroom, providing a safer environment for guests.
Katamama Hotel 'Potato Head', Studios OMA Rem Koolhaas. The beachfront luxury resort where music, art, design, food, and wellness converge under a zero-waste philosophy.
Sustainability is increasingly important in the hospitality industry, and guestroom design will reflect this trend. Sustainable materials such as recycled or renewable resources can be used for flooring, furniture, and fixtures. Water-saving technologies, energy-efficient lighting, and HVAC systems can be integrated into guestroom design to minimize the hotel's environmental impact.
With the increased use of technology in hospitality, hotels increasingly use digital tools to enhance the guest experience. Guestroom design may incorporate features such as smart speakers, virtual assistants, and other technologies that allow guests to interact with hotel staff or request services without leaving their rooms. Additionally, guestroom design may incorporate personalized amenities and services to cater to individual guest preferences.
Overall, the future of guestroom design will likely prioritize security, sustainability, and service to provide a comfortable and safe environment for guests while minimizing the hotel's impact on the environment.
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