From robobutlers to longevity spas, futurist Dr. James Canton believes this will be the offerings by hotels in 40 years
When travelers check into a hotel in 2060 they can expect it to feature augmented reality, artificial intelligence, morphing beds, robotics, touchscreen everything, hyper connectivity and much more, as revealed by the Hotels.com Hotels of the Future study.
Hotels.com celebrates 25 years of accommodation expertise this year and is looking to the future by partnering with renowned futurist Dr. James Canton of the Institute for Global Futures on the Hotels of the Future study. It uncovers how the travel and hotel experience will be different in a year, 25 years and as far ahead as 2060.
The way travelers choose a destination, book a trip, travel to the location and enjoy the in-stay experience will be dramatically different in the future. Hotels.com is already one of the technology leaders in the travel industry but these new forecasts see super-tech meet super-science.
Dr. James Canton from The Institute for Global Futures, a leading think tank that identifies emerging consumer trends, explains, “Trends in technology, science, energy and entertainment will vastly change the hotel experience for travelers. The emergence of a new travel design science, which is a combination of using big data, artificial intelligence and predicting travelers' dreams, will mean the whole travel experience will change.”
“The future of travel is really exciting, as we'll see predictive travel analytics anticipating what consumers want from their experience before booking. The hotel booking itself will be helped along by artificial intelligence software agents, using data mining and intuitive computing. The new travel design science will help create highly personalized in-stay experiences. And it doesn't end when you check out, because new analytics will also ensure lifelong travel fulfillment.”
Hotels.com has worked with Dr. James Canton to identify the top trends for what hotels of the future will be like by 2060:
RoboButlers
These autonomous robots can be designed online before arrival and can be programmed with special talents, skills, languages and information to help make the hotel stay exceptional. They will do everything from greeting guests at the airport, to offering gourmet food service, room makeup, companionship, education, entertainment, business advice and concierge services.
3D Makers in every hotel room
Taking luggage on holiday will be a thing of the past. 3D Printers will transform the travel experience and specifically the in room experience. 3D Makers will generate in real time items guests desire, such as a new pair of shoes, clothes, pharmaceuticals, even computers or wearable phones. 3D shopping will be available, where consumers can download retail goods from the cloud that they want to design on demand. This will become the standard in every hotel room.
Inside the smart hotel room
By 2060 the standard hotel room you know today will be almost unrecognizable. The room of the future will be so personalized, so smart and techy down to the last detail. It will include entering your room via face recognition, talk-back TV, bathrooms will have smart toilets and mirrors streaming real-time news, self-assembling and personalized bed and pillows based on neuro-feedback and in room-personalized experiences like watching a holographic music concert.
Morphing hotels made to order
This is the next generation of made to order. Hotels which self-assemble and morph from one design to another based on consumer's votes. These crowdsourced hotels will use nanotechnology and machines that can self-assemble environments, buildings or even entire physical worlds (the Real Jurassic Park?). This could all be possible in the next 20 years.