Hotel of the future: Download your dream room

By: Associated Press - | Saturday, September 2, 2006 5:17 PM PDT ∞

CHICAGO -- What will the hotel of the future look like?

Think robotics, customized rooms and downloadable amenities.

That's according to a project called The Hotel of Tomorrow, organized by Gettys, a Chicago design firm, and the Hospitality Design Group. Companies participating in the project range from Starwood Hotels, Starbucks and Whirlpool to firms specializing in architecture, electronics, bedding, lighting and wallcoverings.

Many of the innovations and ideas identified by the project will be showcased at the HD Boutique expo, Sept. 18-19, at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Details at http://www.hdexpo.com/hdexpo/3570/index.jsp.

Demographic trends identified by the project found that hotel guests include leisure travelers who want a unique environment, wellness-seekers looking for stress relief, business travelers, tech-savvy teenagers, and environmentalists who may place a premium on facilities that are ecologically responsible, and who may influence others to make similar choices.

Innovations expected to play a role in hotels in the next two decades, according to the project, will include intelligent robots that clean rooms, change beds, and even act as valets to provide automated personal service.

While many hotels already offer wireless Internet access, hotels will increasingly have to provide other amenities that travelers have at home and are expecting on the road.

The hotel of the future may also offer downloadable settings in which guests can choose personalized sounds, aromas and even colors or other visuals. There's even a prototype of a bathtub covered in memory fabric that conforms to your body, and the project predicts that new technologies might create products like regenerating rugs, which repair themselves after guests walk on them.

Another future trend identified by the project involves the construction of pre-fabricated modular hotels that can be embedded in jungles and even oceans, allowing travelers to experience exotic locales without using up or disturbing local resources to create buildings from the ground up.

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