The hotels of the future will likely look far different than what they are today. When travelers check into a hotel in 2060 they can expect it to feature augmented reality, artificial intelligence, morphing beds, robotics, touchscreen everything, hyper connectivity and much more, as revealed by a “Hotels of the Future” study written by renowned futurist Dr. James Canton of the Institute for Global Futures with Hotels.com.

The way travelers choose a destination, book a trip, travel to the location and enjoy the in-stay experience will be dramatically different in years to come.

“Trends in technology, science, energy and entertainment will vastly change the hotel experience for travelers. The emergence of a new travel design science, which is a combination of using big data, artificial intelligence and predicting travelers’ dreams, will mean the whole travel experience will change,” said Canton. “We’ll see predictive travel analytics anticipating what consumers want from their experience before booking. The hotel booking itself will be helped along by artificial intelligence software agents, using data mining and intuitive computing. The new travel design science will help create highly personalized in-stay experiences. And it doesn’t end when you check out, because new analytics will also ensure lifelong travel fulfillment.”

Key players in hospitality futures include:

RoboButlers


These autonomous robots can be designed online before arrival and can be programmed with special talents, skills, languages and information to help make the hotel stay exceptional. They will do everything from greeting guests at the airport, to offering gourmet food service, room makeup, companionship, education, entertainment, business advice and concierge services.

Morphing hotels made to order


This is the next generation of made to order. Hotels which self-assemble and morph from one design to another based on consumer’s votes. These crowd sourced hotels will use nanotechnology and machines that can self-assemble environments, buildings or even entire physical worlds (the Real Jurassic Park?). This could all be possible in the next 20 years.

3D Makers in every hotel room
Taking luggage on holiday will be a thing of the past. 3D Printers will transform the travel experience and specifically the in room experience. 3D Makers will generate in real time items guests desire, such as a new pair of shoes, clothes, pharmaceuticals, even computers or wearable phones. 3D shopping will be available, where consumers can download retail goods from the cloud that they want to design on demand. This will become the standard in every hotel room.

Inside the smart hotel room
By 2060 the standard hotel room you know today will be almost unrecognizable. The room of the future will be so personalized, so smart and techy down to the last detail.

  • Entering your room via face recognition
  • Multiple sensors attuned to you
  • Talk-back TV
  • Every surface will be touchscreen, reactive and interactive
  • Bathrooms will have smart toilets and mirrors streaming real-time news
  • Neuro-enhanced aromas will sprout from interactive spa walls that sense stress and auto-generate a relaxing sleep experience
  • Special towels with pollution wipe nano coatings
  • Wireless temperature controls that adjusts automatically
  • Self-assembling and personalized bed and pillows based on neuro-feedback
  • In room-personalized experiences like watching a holographic music concert

Take a tour of the hotel room of the future here.

Other future features to come:

  • Neuro-dreaming – choose your own dream
  • Pop-up hotels based on crowdsourcing
  • Wellness & longevity hotel spas
  • Airport transfer of the future
  • DNA mobile payments
  • My travel avatar
  • EcoHotels on the next level