These technologies, some still in the concept stage, some existing and ready to be funded, are likely to change the way guests experience hotels in the future, from 2005 and beyond. Experts believe we will see many of these hotel technologies by the year 2030.
1. Foldable Pods The big story at this year's Future Holiday Forum was foldable, pre-fabricated pods on stilts. The fully transportable pods would be moved among exotic locations (think South Pacific, Arctic, or the desert) as consumer interest shifts. "'Active' walls and floors will show changeable images, enabling guests to set whatever mood they wish...All waste produced by the hotel will go into a unit at the base...so no blemish will be left on the environment after it has moved on."
2. Biometrics Biometrics, a security technology that identifies individuals by retina scans, fingerprints or voice prints, is already in use at government and private industry installations. The lock on your hotel room's safe may soon be triggered by a retina scan. Guests of future hotels might also forget about room keys and check in to hotels with just a glance. An airport in Amsterdam is paving the way with the first public installation of retina scans replacing passport checks at security checkpoints.
3. Robots I'm still dreaming about living in a Jetsons-style home that cleans itself, but I may see it in a hotel room first. In an interview with Travel+Leisure magazine, consultant Grace Leo-Andrieu imagines hotels of the future which offer "services that may not necessarily be performed by humans. Food and drinks could be dispensed by machines or robots, rooms could be cleaned by built-in vacuum and disinfecting systems, and a quick back-and-foot massage could be provided by a robotic apparatus."
4. Nanotechnology Seemingly taken from the pages of a Neal Stephenson novel or an episode of "Star Trek," hotel futurists envision nanotechnology enabling a hotel room to transform itself as per your needs. Want a king-sized bed with a sofa, or prefer a single bed and desk? Hotel rooms equipped with molecular nanotechnology will deliver. On the more immediate horizon, the technology promises scratch-resistant furniture, self-cleaning coated glass, upholstery that stays clean, and windows that filter UV/IR light.
5. 3-D Holographic Teleconferencing File this in the "next best thing to being there" category. Business travelers will be able to use 3-D holographic teleconferencing to include far-off members in a meeting, without the use of special glasses. Prototypes have already been developed at NYU and MIT.
6. Room Selection and Personalization You can already choose which seat you want on an airplane. Why not choose which hotel room you want? Systems that track a hotel's inventory and add information about what is in each room can be made available to guests wishing to choose just the right location and configuration. Taken a step farther, guests would be able to specify what they want in a room (i.e., a copy machine), and what they don't want (feather pillows, if the guest has allergies).
7. Undersea Resorts Sure, we already have the tiny Jules' Undersea Lodge. For the next generation of underwater hotels, developers are thinking big. In Dubai, the Hydropolis is scheduled to open at the end of 2006; this massive (250,000 square feet) underwater hotel complex will encompass three restaurants, a ballroom for indoor concerts, a Roman-inspired spa, and guest suites with "ocean-view" windows.
8. Floating Hotels On top of the water, floating hotels are being envisioned. A project by Westin Hotels & Resorts, "America World City," calls for a 250,000-ton ship with three high-rise, 21-story hotels atop it. The "floating city" could accommodate 6,200 passengers and require a crew of 2,400. On-board amenities planned include virtual reality gaming rooms, multi-story shopping centers, and ice-skating rinks.
9. Space Resorts Hospitality design firm Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WATG), known for designs at The Lodge at Rancho Mirage, The Venetian in Las Vegas, and the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur, envision other exotic locales for destination resorts of the future. On the horizon: a resort in outer space, and an airship hotel.
10. Smart Cards Perhaps the technology closest to becoming a part of our lives, smart cards are credit cards (or similar pieces of plastic) embedded with microchips. Smart cards can be used by hotels to personalize the guest experience, from checking you into your hotel automatically to remembering your preferences (you always want a king-sized bed, and fresh fruit in your room when you check in).
