We have gone through the industrial revolution, the electrical revolution, and the women’s revolution. So now what will be next? Well the next revolution to come will be the hotel revolution. It will be the gadgets versus the customers. As I write these words there are new innovation’s being prepared for the hotel industry that will pamper and make each hotel more attractive to the buying public. We have grown to expect certain standards of what should be in any given hotel that we visit. Every time that some designer comes up with a new idea that appeals to the hotel public, we the customer expect to find it when we check in to the next hotel. How many gadgets can the industry provide before it goes in to overload?
Let’s face it, are we the consumer that inept that we could not function in a hotel room without all of the gadgets? Remember when the only amenity in a hotel room was a basin and a pitcher of water, well maybe not that far back, but you get the idea. Somehow we managed to survive and stumble our way to better hotels. We don’t just expect these electronic marvels in the rooms – we demand them. In some cases our decisions are based on these items, or we seek accommodation elsewhere. I shall be traveling to Los Angeles the end of May, I shall be staying at a Westin property, and I will tell you that when making my reservation I was informed that Wi-Fi is not free, imagine that, I would be charged a fee if I wanted to use it. I am familiar with the property so it did not make any difference to me. There is a well named coffee hang out just a few feet from the front door that has free WI-FI. I mention this because the property does have a nice restaurant where I might be enticed to have a nice breakfast while I check my e mail. That breakfast is an average of 18.00 or more that the property is losing. So be it.
Technology at its best, and yet some consumers are never satisfied, they want more, they want the same technology that they get at home. Is the hotel a home away from home? Some hotels have advertised that it is. Well if that being the case then I, the customer should expect all of my gadgets to be there. The problem on the other hand is the hotel industry is trying to anticipate the guest needs as far as what they want. We used to be content with a color TV in the room. Not any more – there had better be a flat 40” TV with all of channels in the world. Personally I can get my news quicker from my IPad than from the TV, and I don’t have to listen to commercials. Modern marvels, don’t you just love it.
I ask you all where are we going, what will the hotel of tomorrow be like? Will Captain Kirk be able to beam us from one hotel to the next? I was presenting a workshop recently, and the sound person came up to hook up the microphone for me. To my surprise, no wires, just a round gadget that looked like a lapel pin. Worked great, I wanted to get the name of the gizmo, but the audience had questions, and in the turmoil, the gizmo was forgotten. Well let’s see, There are door locks that your phone will open, if you so desire. You can reserve a room over your phone and in some cases get the room numbers and lock codes sent to your phone, you don’t even have to go by the front desk.
I will put it to you the readers, what do you think will be the hotel of tomorrow? What would you like the hotel room to have? Best of all will you be the front runner of what the hotel will be? Remember my last article “The Heavenly Bed?” Will you be the next innovator with the “Marvel Hotel Room?”
About the Author
About the AuthorAlan Campbell has been in Las Vegas for over 30 years and has worked for the major strip hotels. He has spent some time in California, Los Angeles where he worked for the Radisson and Sheraton hotels. Alan considers the hospitality industry the best job in the world — it is the only place that both king's and Paupers will visit you.
The Hotel Guy
