Hotel of the Future: Industry Eyes New Technology
April 22, 2008
OSSINING, New York – In last year's Hotel Of The Future article, published in Spring, 2007, ELA Lighting's director of sales and operations, Scott Jones, told C/HN, "I'd like to say everyone will own a hovercraft, but that's just not realistic…We usually just come back to what we're secure with." As we look to the next generation of hotels, we notice the very nature of "reality" drastically changing. Soon, hotel patrons will be able to explore the world from high above the land or from below it, without ever leaving their guestrooms. They will be able to check-in to hotels before even leaving the airport, work efficiently and comfortably from their rooms, and all while helping the environment. Little did we know last spring that this day would arrive so soon.
Into Interiors
You need not check into a specialty hotel to customize your stay. Many factors that will influence the future of hotels including mobility, sustainability, comfort, economic strategies and luxury, translate in different proportions into the standard guestroom. Hotels are seeking designers that have recognized and begun to accommodate these needs.
"One thing that we're seeing is the office away from the office," said Herman Miller representative Susan Koole. "With the increase in business travel, we're seeing a rising interest in ergonomic seating because more people are spending more time in their hotel rooms as an extension of their work environments."
Fred Steckham, national product director of hospitality at HumanScale, also noted the uprise in demand for ergonomic seating in hospitality. "Ergonomics, like sustainability, is just beginning to foray into the hospitality industry," he said. "Hotels are branding more and more to specific demographics and psychographics, but before ergonomic rooms become the norm, I think we'll see it first in hotels branded and targeted to the upscale business traveler." The guestroom office concept has created a market for an array of different products and technologies. HumanScale sets to launch its new Diffrient Hospitality Task Light in the third market quarter. The product will allow guests to plug electronics directly into the lamp.
Though attention has certainly shifted toward practicality and function, aesthetic luxury has not taken a backseat in the guestroom. "We've been doing a lot of feature walls," said Kari Pei, a designer at Gordon Wolf. "What we launched a couple of years ago that is becoming very popular now is the Swarovski crystal adhered to non-woven wall-covering in a silk-screened image." According to Pei, super-scaled images, texture oriented, and custom made wall-coverings are becoming more prominent.
Lighting designers now look for ways to fuse design and energy conservation. "From what we're seeing, [hospitality venues] want to have the same decorative looks as they've always had but with a focus on fluorescent lighting instead of incandescent or halogen," said general manager of Studio Italia USA, David Weisinger. "That has been going on for a long time but we're seeing a lot more of that. High-end hotels don't want the fluorescent look but they want to fit with energy efficient regulations. We're finalizing a big project in which we've outfitted the entire place with fluorescent lamps. We enclose it with an amber or orange to take away from the harsh white light."
Braving the Elements
Be it by land, water, or air – architects, engineers and designers have begun to reshape the way we view the hotel industry. Three current projects embody new directions in escapist accommodation heads.
The Manned Cloud Cruise Airship, a flying hotel proposed by French designer Jean-Marie Massaud, will literally bring sightseeing to the guest's bedroom door… or rather, window. Each of the 20 guestrooms will have wall-to-wall windows, allowing guests to view landscapes and landmarks from their beds. The hotel will also feature a large terrace, spa, gym, restaurant, lounge and bar.
"The objective of Manned Cloud is less a means of transportation than a means of sightseeing," said Massaud representative Aurélie Ullrich. "Therefore, it would fly low enough to visit and enjoy most places with as little impact as possible. The major issue for an attractive site today is the impact of tourism: the needs for infrastructures (airport, hotels, etc.) modify the site, and most of the time, destroy its original interest. Manned Cloud has an ideal goal to allow enjoying the beauty of our planet without leaving traces."
Currently under construction in Dubai, the Crescent Hydropolis Resort will be an extravagant luxury hotel for guests who want to experience the ultimate underwater experience. The hotel will be split into three structures: the land station will welcome guests; the connecting tunnel will house a train system that transports guests to the main hotel, which will house 220 suites. According to company representatives, several countries have expressed interest in funding the project and Crescent Hydropolis might realize its dreams of becoming a chain hotel.
Turning Green
Many companies and venues now face the difficult balancing act of minimizing costs while promoting environmental sustainability. Manufacturers and architects alike have all begun to jump on the green wagon and seek LEED certification. San Francisco's "greenest" hotel, Orchard Garden Hotel, pioneers the forefront of sustainable hospitality with a range of technologies, basic products and programs.
According to general manager Stefan Muhle, the Orchard Garden Hotel recently purchased shower heads that dispense 1.5 gallons of water per minute (gpm) instead of the 3 or 4 gpm that shower heads traditionally dispense. They also shoot air pressure, which creates the sensation of standing under a full stream. The hotel uses low-flow toilets that produce 1.5 gallons per flush. Another simple technology at the Orchard Garden Hotel is the keycard system in each guestroom that controls lights and air-conditioning. When the guest leaves the room, electrical circuits are disabled and energy is saved while the room is unoccupied. "I think [these technologies] will be standard in the next five to ten years," said Muhle. "At this point many hotels are still shying away from going green because they have to pay a premium or a fine and do a lot of research, but as materials become more available it's going to change the way they're built," said Muhle.
"We've created a special wastebasket in the guestrooms' bathrooms that is made of wood taken from a sustainable forest," said Muhle. "That way we're not buying wood at the expense of forest eradication. That's a very low tech item but nobody else has it. It's also an invitation for hotel guests to take part in our recycling efforts."
"I'm not looking at a single bottom line anymore; there is a triple bottom line. I want to take care of the community, take care of our staff, and the profits will fall into place. If you take care of the community then you will have more clients. If you get your employees excited in the profits and the cause, everything comes full circle. In the hospitality industry, you're working with people. If you neglect them, your profits are eventually going to dry up," said Muhle.
Intelligent Design
Guest service can range from room maintenance to check-in, to hotel restaurants and all amenity-related services. The technology that benefits clients most will enable hotel management to learn about and attend to clients' needs.
"There is a technology that allows management to know when a customer has reached the valet," said Lee Holman, lead retail analyst of the IHL Consulting Group. "If Mr. and Mrs. Smith go to their favorite restaurant, hosts will be alerted to their arrival and automatically know what their favorite table and preferred drinks are. It allows for that extra personal touch. The same goes for hotels. Technology is not going to be the main attraction. They don't care what you have going on in the back office. The competition really stems more from the hospitality side – they want to service their customers."
The newly-launched Motorola CA50, a VoIP-enabled wireless bar code scanner allows hotel staff to communicate with each other via walkie-talkie, personal calls and mass text messaging. The cellular device increases management capabilities. Maintenance staff can also use it to scan barcodes as a means of checking off cleaned rooms. "You can give the CA50 to cleaning staff to accelerate productivity and enhance the clients' experience," said Mark Self, vice president of Retail Industry Solutions Group at Motorola's Enterprise Mobility business. "You might have someone check in who has allergy challenges. The CA50 will allow you to deploy orders to staff to clean something without making the client wait longer than necessary…There is an increasing appetite to give workers task devices so that they can do their jobs better. Even at the entry level job, there is a need to make staff more productive."
With the maximization of time-efficiency, the guest will have more time to play. Launched in January of 2008, the Microsoft Surface allows guests to interact with software using their hands in lieu of the traditional mouse and keypad. The glass surface "recognizes" fingertips, natural movements, and inanimate objects. In the hotel setting, the Surface might function as an interactive concierge, advertising local points of interest. The table also works extremely well in hotel restaurants and lounges, allowing guests to sit down around the table and pull up a wine menu, learn about each wine, and look at prices. When they have ordered a specific wine and placed it on the table, an interactive map of that wine's origin will appear.
"The three common consumer pain points we heard repeatedly is that technology is intimidating, isolating and inconvenient," said Jeff Gattis, director of product management at Microsoft Surface Computing. "We believe that Surface solves these pain points and offers a more inviting, collaborative and accessible technology experience for end-users."
Peas in a Pod (Hotel)
The first Japanese Capsule hotel opened in 1979, introducing a revolutionary approach to hospitality design. Located in city centers, Capsule hotels provide an easy and cheap alternative to staying in a hotel. "Japanese businessmen have frequented capsule hotels for some time, but recently they have become increasingly popular with overseas tourists," said Tosikazu Odajima, director of sales and marketing at Capsule Inn Akihabara. Not only has the Capsule hotel become more popular among tourists in Japan, but some have even brought it home with them. Designers and architects in several European countries recently developed their own adaptations of the Capsule's compact design.
The Qbic hotel is a pod-style type of hotel for the "no frills" type of guest. Each room in a Qbic hotel is furnished solely with a "Cubi", cube-shaped installation that comes complete with a dining set, extra long bed, LCD TV and full bathroom. The aluminum unit takes up very little space while offering guests the basic necessities starting at €69.00 a night. "Our thought [was] that travelers were ready for something new," said Maxine Hofman, a representative of Qbic Hotels. "No one wants to pay for facilities of a hotel you don't use. What everyone wants is the best bed – that's why we have Hastens beds. Qbic offers efficiency and design in the room, with facilities that offer free wireless internet."
Qbic Hotels have already been built in several locations including Amsterdam, which opened in July of 2007, and also Antwerp and Maastricht which are both scheduled to open in 2008. "There is more than 6 million square meters of empty office space only in Holland," said Hofman. "Qbic Hotels is an efficient, short term solution for these buildings." She also noted that there are currently two more serious candidates in cities in Western European cities.
Into Interiors
You need not check into a specialty hotel to customize your stay. Many factors that will influence the future of hotels including mobility, sustainability, comfort, economic strategies and luxury, translate in different proportions into the standard guestroom. Hotels are seeking designers that have recognized and begun to accommodate these needs.
"One thing that we're seeing is the office away from the office," said Herman Miller representative Susan Koole. "With the increase in business travel, we're seeing a rising interest in ergonomic seating because more people are spending more time in their hotel rooms as an extension of their work environments."
Fred Steckham, national product director of hospitality at HumanScale, also noted the uprise in demand for ergonomic seating in hospitality. "Ergonomics, like sustainability, is just beginning to foray into the hospitality industry," he said. "Hotels are branding more and more to specific demographics and psychographics, but before ergonomic rooms become the norm, I think we'll see it first in hotels branded and targeted to the upscale business traveler." The guestroom office concept has created a market for an array of different products and technologies. HumanScale sets to launch its new Diffrient Hospitality Task Light in the third market quarter. The product will allow guests to plug electronics directly into the lamp.
Though attention has certainly shifted toward practicality and function, aesthetic luxury has not taken a backseat in the guestroom. "We've been doing a lot of feature walls," said Kari Pei, a designer at Gordon Wolf. "What we launched a couple of years ago that is becoming very popular now is the Swarovski crystal adhered to non-woven wall-covering in a silk-screened image." According to Pei, super-scaled images, texture oriented, and custom made wall-coverings are becoming more prominent.
Lighting designers now look for ways to fuse design and energy conservation. "From what we're seeing, [hospitality venues] want to have the same decorative looks as they've always had but with a focus on fluorescent lighting instead of incandescent or halogen," said general manager of Studio Italia USA, David Weisinger. "That has been going on for a long time but we're seeing a lot more of that. High-end hotels don't want the fluorescent look but they want to fit with energy efficient regulations. We're finalizing a big project in which we've outfitted the entire place with fluorescent lamps. We enclose it with an amber or orange to take away from the harsh white light."
Braving the Elements
Be it by land, water, or air – architects, engineers and designers have begun to reshape the way we view the hotel industry. Three current projects embody new directions in escapist accommodation heads.
The Manned Cloud Cruise Airship, a flying hotel proposed by French designer Jean-Marie Massaud, will literally bring sightseeing to the guest's bedroom door… or rather, window. Each of the 20 guestrooms will have wall-to-wall windows, allowing guests to view landscapes and landmarks from their beds. The hotel will also feature a large terrace, spa, gym, restaurant, lounge and bar.
"The objective of Manned Cloud is less a means of transportation than a means of sightseeing," said Massaud representative Aurélie Ullrich. "Therefore, it would fly low enough to visit and enjoy most places with as little impact as possible. The major issue for an attractive site today is the impact of tourism: the needs for infrastructures (airport, hotels, etc.) modify the site, and most of the time, destroy its original interest. Manned Cloud has an ideal goal to allow enjoying the beauty of our planet without leaving traces."
Currently under construction in Dubai, the Crescent Hydropolis Resort will be an extravagant luxury hotel for guests who want to experience the ultimate underwater experience. The hotel will be split into three structures: the land station will welcome guests; the connecting tunnel will house a train system that transports guests to the main hotel, which will house 220 suites. According to company representatives, several countries have expressed interest in funding the project and Crescent Hydropolis might realize its dreams of becoming a chain hotel.
Turning Green
Many companies and venues now face the difficult balancing act of minimizing costs while promoting environmental sustainability. Manufacturers and architects alike have all begun to jump on the green wagon and seek LEED certification. San Francisco's "greenest" hotel, Orchard Garden Hotel, pioneers the forefront of sustainable hospitality with a range of technologies, basic products and programs.
According to general manager Stefan Muhle, the Orchard Garden Hotel recently purchased shower heads that dispense 1.5 gallons of water per minute (gpm) instead of the 3 or 4 gpm that shower heads traditionally dispense. They also shoot air pressure, which creates the sensation of standing under a full stream. The hotel uses low-flow toilets that produce 1.5 gallons per flush. Another simple technology at the Orchard Garden Hotel is the keycard system in each guestroom that controls lights and air-conditioning. When the guest leaves the room, electrical circuits are disabled and energy is saved while the room is unoccupied. "I think [these technologies] will be standard in the next five to ten years," said Muhle. "At this point many hotels are still shying away from going green because they have to pay a premium or a fine and do a lot of research, but as materials become more available it's going to change the way they're built," said Muhle.
"We've created a special wastebasket in the guestrooms' bathrooms that is made of wood taken from a sustainable forest," said Muhle. "That way we're not buying wood at the expense of forest eradication. That's a very low tech item but nobody else has it. It's also an invitation for hotel guests to take part in our recycling efforts."
"I'm not looking at a single bottom line anymore; there is a triple bottom line. I want to take care of the community, take care of our staff, and the profits will fall into place. If you take care of the community then you will have more clients. If you get your employees excited in the profits and the cause, everything comes full circle. In the hospitality industry, you're working with people. If you neglect them, your profits are eventually going to dry up," said Muhle.
Intelligent Design
Guest service can range from room maintenance to check-in, to hotel restaurants and all amenity-related services. The technology that benefits clients most will enable hotel management to learn about and attend to clients' needs.
"There is a technology that allows management to know when a customer has reached the valet," said Lee Holman, lead retail analyst of the IHL Consulting Group. "If Mr. and Mrs. Smith go to their favorite restaurant, hosts will be alerted to their arrival and automatically know what their favorite table and preferred drinks are. It allows for that extra personal touch. The same goes for hotels. Technology is not going to be the main attraction. They don't care what you have going on in the back office. The competition really stems more from the hospitality side – they want to service their customers."
The newly-launched Motorola CA50, a VoIP-enabled wireless bar code scanner allows hotel staff to communicate with each other via walkie-talkie, personal calls and mass text messaging. The cellular device increases management capabilities. Maintenance staff can also use it to scan barcodes as a means of checking off cleaned rooms. "You can give the CA50 to cleaning staff to accelerate productivity and enhance the clients' experience," said Mark Self, vice president of Retail Industry Solutions Group at Motorola's Enterprise Mobility business. "You might have someone check in who has allergy challenges. The CA50 will allow you to deploy orders to staff to clean something without making the client wait longer than necessary…There is an increasing appetite to give workers task devices so that they can do their jobs better. Even at the entry level job, there is a need to make staff more productive."
With the maximization of time-efficiency, the guest will have more time to play. Launched in January of 2008, the Microsoft Surface allows guests to interact with software using their hands in lieu of the traditional mouse and keypad. The glass surface "recognizes" fingertips, natural movements, and inanimate objects. In the hotel setting, the Surface might function as an interactive concierge, advertising local points of interest. The table also works extremely well in hotel restaurants and lounges, allowing guests to sit down around the table and pull up a wine menu, learn about each wine, and look at prices. When they have ordered a specific wine and placed it on the table, an interactive map of that wine's origin will appear.
"The three common consumer pain points we heard repeatedly is that technology is intimidating, isolating and inconvenient," said Jeff Gattis, director of product management at Microsoft Surface Computing. "We believe that Surface solves these pain points and offers a more inviting, collaborative and accessible technology experience for end-users."
Peas in a Pod (Hotel)
The first Japanese Capsule hotel opened in 1979, introducing a revolutionary approach to hospitality design. Located in city centers, Capsule hotels provide an easy and cheap alternative to staying in a hotel. "Japanese businessmen have frequented capsule hotels for some time, but recently they have become increasingly popular with overseas tourists," said Tosikazu Odajima, director of sales and marketing at Capsule Inn Akihabara. Not only has the Capsule hotel become more popular among tourists in Japan, but some have even brought it home with them. Designers and architects in several European countries recently developed their own adaptations of the Capsule's compact design.
The Qbic hotel is a pod-style type of hotel for the "no frills" type of guest. Each room in a Qbic hotel is furnished solely with a "Cubi", cube-shaped installation that comes complete with a dining set, extra long bed, LCD TV and full bathroom. The aluminum unit takes up very little space while offering guests the basic necessities starting at €69.00 a night. "Our thought [was] that travelers were ready for something new," said Maxine Hofman, a representative of Qbic Hotels. "No one wants to pay for facilities of a hotel you don't use. What everyone wants is the best bed – that's why we have Hastens beds. Qbic offers efficiency and design in the room, with facilities that offer free wireless internet."
Qbic Hotels have already been built in several locations including Amsterdam, which opened in July of 2007, and also Antwerp and Maastricht which are both scheduled to open in 2008. "There is more than 6 million square meters of empty office space only in Holland," said Hofman. "Qbic Hotels is an efficient, short term solution for these buildings." She also noted that there are currently two more serious candidates in cities in Western European cities.
