Hotels of the future

"Sci-fi" hotels pop up as the hospitality industry is catching up with technology

Hotels of the future

Technology has been making long strides in every field known to man and advancing at a rapid pace. It was only a matter of time before the hospitality industry caught up with it. With trend changes, the industry is thinking out of the box and adapting to attract the growing ease-loving-customer market.

Hotels are now taking inspiration from science fiction movies to revamp the image of the industry. Here are five main aspects to look for in these “sci-fi hotels” that are opening up around the world:

Automated services would have robots greeting you and checking you in at the hotels. They are also the ones who clean and deliver food to your rooms.

Virtual Reality is another aspect being explored with which hotels give virtual panorama pictures on the places to visit instead of brochures at the hotel desk.

Voice-based assistance is goes beyond just switching on or off the lights by voice command and offers room services, room temperature control etc.

One-click check-in where all you do is use your phone and check in with a click.

Hologram will be used in new conference halls and will be outfitted with one for conference calls and presenting data.

Some of the popular sci-fi hotels that have a few or all these features are:

NH Collection Berlin Friedrichstrasse | Wikimedia Commons NH Collection Berlin Friedrichstrasse | Wikimedia Commons

1. NH Collection Berlin Friedrichstrasse

This is the definition of a businessman’s paradise. Sure, this hotel has amenities that every other hotel boasts of, but sets it apart is the hi-tech conference room with its holographic projection system and present your work with 3D projections. May be the next phase will be proper holographic video conferencing.

2. Aloft Cupertino, California

This hotel is not on this list for its rooms or bars but for the robots that work there. These robots are used for deliveries.

3. Eccleston Square Hotel, London

Eccleston Square Hotel | Wikimedia Commons Eccleston Square Hotel | Wikimedia Commons

This hotel will surprise you. When you look at it from the outside, it looks like a normal building with an regular facade, but the surprise lies in the hi-tech rooms that await you inside with iPads to control your room temperature, the TV on your bathroom’s glass wall and other services.

4. Pengheng Space Capsules Hotel, Shenzhen

Pengheng Space Capsules Hotel is unique because it is unmanned. The entire hotel is operated by robots who work as doormen, waiters and also as receptionists. The rooms which look like space capsules is just something that adds to the sci-fi feel of it.

5. The Yotel, New York

The Yotel | Flickr The Yotel | Flickr

The Yotel defines what a hi-tech hotel is as it boasts of kiosk check-ins, robots that carry your luggage and bedrooms with audio streaming facilities along with air conditioning using motion sensors.

6. Flyzoo Hotel, Hangzhou

The Flyzoo Hotel opened up in November 2018. It is THE sci-fi hotel to visit; fitted with the latest advancements in technology that is currently available and headed by Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma. Everything except housekeeping in this hotel is done by robots. The robot at the reception uses facial recognition technology to log in guests and from there onward you have robots and Artificial Intelligence to help with everything.