Your Room Will Get Connected

“Technology is top of mind for everyone right now,” says Marriott’s Edmundson—who oversees eight luxury brands, including Ritz-Carlton, Edition, Luxury Collection, and St. Regis—specifically investment in the so-called “Internet of Things” (IoT) tech such as Nest temperature control units or Amazon.com Inc.’s Alexa.

Marriott’s experimental “Internet of Things room,” created in conjunction with Samsung and Legrand SA, includes showers that remember a guest’s preferred temperature, digital wall art that can be swapped for family photos, and mirrors with embedded displays—for on-demand yoga videos. The rooms will soft-launch in 2018; W hotels will likely be first to offer them.

Vanderslice may get there sooner. Hilton just announced a similarly teched-out room with mobile app controls for television, lighting, thermostat, and digital art. It will debut in major cities in the coming weeks, with a rapid rollout across all Hilton brands in 2018 and 2019. 

“2018 is going to be the year that the rubber hits the road with IoT technology,” says Deloitte’s Gasdia. “It took a while for this technology to mature, but now personalization can happen in real time. It’s a win-win for everybody.”

The Front Desk Will Get A Makeover

While lifestyle brand, such as Ace and 1 Hotels, have upended the old-fashioned lobby and turned it into a cool, collective workspace, luxury brands have largely stayed true to tradition. That will be challenged in 2018, says Hanson, who predicts that the check-in desk will slowly fade into oblivion, reflecting travelers’ shifting preferences for intimacy rather than formality. 

“Fifty years ago, people didn’t have credit cards, and bad guys would come jump the desk and steal the cash,” he begins. “But that’s not the case anymore, and hotels no longer need that type of tall, wide barrier. Now they’re thinking: ‘Why can’t we have a little seating area that’s very comfortable and intimate?’”

Living room-like check-in areas are indeed popping up at some of the world’s finest properties. Take the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, recently reopened after a four-year makeover by Rosewood. Its reception space is an elegant sitting room, with antique desks and a plush loveseat. The shift allows travelers to relax after a long journey—something Deloitte pinpointed as a key need, especially for business travelers, in its recent “Hotel of the Future” study.