Checking into tomorrow - the hotels of the future

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A hotel is a hotel is a hotel. But is that going to change? A recent study by the experts at Villeroy & Boch sheds new light on what hotels might look like a few decades from now. Here’s the best part: you can already experience some of the wildest trends now!

Robot check-ins? Air conditioners you can talk to? And why not take your own apartment with you when you travel?

Well, one thing at a time. Before getting into the nitty-gritty, the study explores the framework conditions surrounding hotels of the future. In other words, how will we be living in general 20, 30, 40 years from now? Seven megatrends will affect us most significantly. Globalization will obviously be at the top of the list.

Image: Hotel Schani by Kurt Hoerbst

The world’s getting smaller, and the study predicts an eventual global culture – but we’ve got a while to go before then, the researchers say. Urbanization is another megatrend, one that goes hand-in-hand with living in extremely small spaces. That type of world gives rise to an interesting social megatrend: the “individual we”. People live their individuality, yet they seek out collective experiences. Co-working spaces are one good example of that. And then there are the megatrends of demographic transformation, barrier-free construction, and cross-generational living concepts. On the technical side of things, the smart home and digitalization megatrends are already opening up a whole universe of possibilities for making life more pleasant. Last but not least, the study predicts that the megatrend of sustainability will (fortunately!) have a major influence.

What does that mean for the hotels of tomorrow? Well, the optics will be as spectacular as the interiors, the lines between real and virtual worlds will blur, and fulfilling individual desires will be a piece of cake. Curious?

Image: Schani Hotels -Hofbauer

Don’t wait, check right in! A few hotels have brought the future to us already. How about Hotel Schani in Vienna, where the ambiance is old-fashioned and you pay the bill in Bitcoin? Or maybe you’d prefer a few nights in a historically protected crane? (The construction equipment, not the bird.) The Faralda NDSM Crane Hotel, located in an old shipyard, offers spectacular views of Amsterdam from 50 meters up – and rock stars and DJs aren’t the only ones shelling out for the three luxury suites at dizzying heights. The Westin Hamburg at the Elbphilharmonie catapults us into the future with its futuristic architecture that blurs the lines between inside and out. Life in a glass house has never been this beautiful – but you probably still shouldn’t throw stones. We interviewed a well-known trend expert to find out more about the hotel of the future.

A well-known trend expert reveals more about the hotel of the future in an interview >>