oddlight

MOBILE in-room work pods, personal robotic butlers, voice-activated smart rooms where curtains are opened and lights turned down on command, air-permeable windows where fresh outdoor air is filtered through a smart window, a room that can morph into different configurations and environments at the touch of a button and virtual video conferencing so you can enjoy dinner with family and friends in other locations from the comfort of your hotel room.

Welcome to your room at tomorrow's inn, at least that's what those involved in the Hotel of Tomorrow (HOT) project, a US-based group of experts envisioning the future of hotels, say.

An industry-spanning initiative put together by Hospitality Design magazine and Gettys, a Chicago-based design firm, HOT participants says that future hotels "will be multifunctional and intelligent, combining imagination with efficiency", and that future guests will be able to create the type of room they want according to their wants and needs on the day.

In its first year, the HOT project built to prototype stage several design concepts including a bathroom that doubled as a day spa with space-age shower/tub/steam room and automatic body-drying system; a "living wall", creating sustainable and renewable in-room energy; and mobile, wireless self-contained in-room work pods that fold up when not in use.

Andrew Loader, national director of sales and marketing for Sofitel Hotels and Resorts in Australia, says he believes the future is about "smart" guest rooms that cater to the guest's personal preferences.

Loader believes that while the latest technology will continue to have an important role in hotel rooms, it will be more about enhancing the comfort of guests, rather than office-style functionality.

"Wellbeing is emerging as a primary theme for future hotel design and concepts," he says.

"Future designs are also starting to incorporate the idea of oversized bathrooms and holistic spa room rituals, the option for in-room fitness programs with specialised sports kits and work-out gear as opposed to communal gyms."

But it seems that our hotel rooms of the future will not just be about bells and high-tech whistles. Sustainability and eco-sensitivity will be one of the most important features of future hotel design, says Glen Hiemstra, founder of Futurist.com.

"Climate change and sustainability will be dominant in 25 years, even more so than today," Hiemstra says.

"Hotels and rooms will strive for maximum energy efficiency and sustainability. This means on-site energy generation - solar and wind, hydrogen fuel cell and nanobattery - high levels of water recycling, and the use of natural and organic products in the room."

Nick Baker, executive general manager sales and marketing, Voyages Hotels and Resorts, agrees.

"Tomorrow's holiday-makers will have very different needs and requirements to today's tourists. Carbon-neutral hotels will become the norm, rather than the exception and discerning travellers will want to blend in with their environments, rather than stand out. Participating in ways to replenish their local environment - such as planting trees in areas of the rainforest, or participating in programs such as our Coral Watch program on Voyages Heron Island to monitor the impact of coral bleaching - will and should become a prerequisite for future holiday-makers."

Peter Hook, of the Accor hotel chain, believes that when it comes to future hotel design it is the basics that count. "The gimmicks will always get attention, but I think the biggest innovation is that guests staying in the mid and economy sectors of the market can expect many touches that they previously would have expected in five-star rooms."

2027: A HOLIDAY ODYSSEY

Here's how your hotel of tomorrow could look:

* A touch-screen unit that lets you single out hotel rooms the way you pick airline seats.

* Nano-painted walls that provide voice-activated on-demand electricity exclusive of cords or cables.

* Biometric monitors that adjust lighting, temperature, and humidity based on your health needs and personal preferences.

* Self-cleaning, nano-fibre linens and light-emitting pillows for late-night reading.

* A combined bed/bath unit in which the sleep surface can be retracted to make a bathtub and shower.

* Floor pad to monitor guests' health through their feet and a mirror to display the data.

* Fashion-consulting system, which would take your plans (work, exercise, a night on the town) and personal preferences into account and then display appropriate clothing from local retailers.

See http://hot.gettys.com.

THE WORKS

* There are two underwater resorts under construction: the Poseidon Undersea Resort in Fiji, and the Hydropolis in Dubai, both due to open in 2009. See http://www.poseidonresorts.com.

* The Aeroscraft, a 400-tonne blimp designed as a flying hotel, will accommodate 250 passengers. It's still in the prototype stage, but the designers hope to have it ready to fly by 2010. See http://www.aeroscraft.com.

* The first hotel on the moon could be up and running by 2050, says designer Hans-Jurgen Rombaut of the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture in the Netherlands. He is calling it the Lunatic Hotel. See www.rombaut.nl.

.. from smh