Hotel rooms are starting to get a digital touch. Thanks to growing technology, your home away from home can be more connected and personalized. Find out how, here.

1. Hotel Rooms Are
Getting "Smarter"
NIR RONEN

2. As someone who travels frequently for business, I admit
that it’s sometimes nice to get away from home for a little
while and come back to fresh linens every night, to be able
to call down to the front desk whenever I need something,
and to not have to worry about household maintenance
while I’m away.
At the same time, I often find myself yearning to return
home at the end of a long trip. Nothing beats the
personalization of one’s own home.

3. A few years ago, there was a clear divide between home
and away; one could choose between comfort and
convenience, but no hotel, no matter how lavish, could
match the comforts of home. Now, thanks to smart devices
such as digital personal assistants traditionally found in
private homes, the two are coming together in the
hospitality industry to offer travelers an exciting new hotel
stay experience.

4. Many hotel rooms are already decked out with the latest
and greatest technologies, such as high-definition flat
screen televisions and bedside tablets, but the smart hotel
room offers something more. A new breed of hotels are
emerging that emphasize connectivity and personalization,
putting more power into the guests’ hands. Here are some
of the ways smart home technology is being implemented
by hotels to offer guests a more personalized and
connected stay.

5. PERSONALIZATION

6. In 2005, The New York Times put out an article predicting
that some of the smart technology used in hotels at the
time allowing guests to set the temperature, dim the lights,
and personalize their music and television tastes, would
soon be picked up by more households throughout the
country. It’s safe to say that prediction came true, with
personal assistants like the Amazon Echo now a fixture in
many homes.

7. Now, hotel rooms are following suit and upping the ante to
offer guests an experience that rivals the comforts of home.
The UK’s largest hotel chain, Whitbread, recently opened a
line of budget hotels that put power and convenience into
the hands of the guests- literally. Guests can control
everything from checking in and out, setting the room
temperature, changing the tv channel, and ordering meals
all from an app on their smartphone. An American hotel
chain, Starwood, is utilizing Apple technologies, as well as
virtual reality, to customize hospitality for guests.

8. CONNECTIVITY

9. According to travel industry site, Skift, “The Smart Hotel isn’t
about a tablet by the bed that you can’t figure out how to
use to open the drapes. It’s about real-time data and
connectivity.” Connectivity is key in contributing to an
amplified guest experience. The smart hotel room of the
future, Skift explains, allows for personal and professional
development by helping guests connect to their
surroundings. It will use the Internet of Things (IoT) to plug
into a city’s data platforms and share relevant information
such as events and new restaurant openings.

10. Of course, no hotel, no matter how advanced and tech-
savvy, will ever compare to the comforts and joys of being
at home surrounded by family, but I am excited to see how
smart technologies play out in the hospitality industry.

11. Thank You For Reading!
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