To boldly design where no howl has been designed before…
Face it, hotels don't look all that different at the end of the 20th century than they did at the end of the 19th. All that may be set to change, however, argues Howard J. Wolff, vice president and corporate managing director of the Honolulu-based architecture firm Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo. Writing in the August 1997 Urban Land Supplement, Wolff proposes that technology will – at last – permit radical changes in hotels and resorts.
That prediction has been on the table for almost 30 years, as evidenced by a series of Cornell Quarterly articles in 1969 that envisioned personal air craft, a "Lunar Hilton," and hotels at the bottom of the ocean.(1) Alas, the technology was not yet in place for many of the innovations envisioned in that series.
Wolff's article shows that the vision remains, while the technology has caught up. Gadget-laden guest rooms are already in prototype form, Wolff notes, notably in the CyberSuite at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, where "the entry system automatically recognizes the guest and opens the door. The 'Butler in a Box' environmental-control system can adjust lighting, temperature, and draperies at the sound of a voice; with a phone call it can even draw a bath." Wolff goes on to say that the suite has a camera at the door to allow guests to see and converse with visitors, a net-TV gives internet access, and other electronic equipment, including virtual-reality headgear, provides diversions.
Wolff concludes that design of hotels and resorts will be driven by technology, some of which has yet to be invented. Meantime, the trends of today will also greatly influence hotel and resort design. Some of those trends include the following:
Shopping has become a form of entertainment. The top tourist attraction in Canada is the Edmonton Mall, and the Mall of America is the third-most-visited site in the United States. Other destinations are bidding for the shopping trade, including Guam, Saipan, and Waikiki.
Exercise has progressed beyond being a fad, in Wolff's view, particularly since aging Baby Boomers seem intent on remaining as youthful as possible. The result will be "longevity centers" and athletic camps. At the same time, however, travelers will want to be pampered in spas. Wolff expects more stand-alone (destination) spas. "Already, several hotels designed with spa facilities are changing their names to reflect that focus," he wrote, citing the Hyatt Regency Kauai Resort and Spa as an example.
Even with all the electronic means of communication – or perhaps because of them – people will want to be with other people more than ever, Wolff believes. Thus, hotels and resorts will host more family reunions and other meetings in the future.
Led by the example of Las Vegas,gaming destinations will continue to expand. Las Vegas attracts more than 30 million visitors per year. At present, the city, is enjoying a "Field of Dreams" phenomenon. Wolff writes that just by adding supply (and attractions) it is creating demand, particularly because gaming is only one of the activities.
Perhaps the most intriguing and potentially powerful trend is the apparent focus that many travelers have on personal growth through some kind of transformative experience while traveling. Wolff adduces a survey by Longwoods International in Toronto in which travelers at a beach resort listed "unique culture" as the top criterion affecting their decision to visit that location. Thus, travelers will seek resorts that offer archeological expeditions or rain-forest tours. Wolff concludes: "The successful hotels and resorts of the future will facilitate and enhance a traveler's desire to combine learning and leisure."
Finally, Wolff notes the contradictory nature of many trends, such as "calm-water rafting": a concern for safety combined with a thirst for adventure; "fishhead curry and Big Macs": a desire for exotic food and also for comfort food; "spend and save": travelers will spend money but they insist on value; "cast away and connect": people want to get away from it all but they bring their cell phones with them; "a genuine copy": travelers love authenticity but they flock to ersatz theme attractions; "wide-eyed and sophisticated": some travelers belong to newly emerging middle classes, while others are seasoned travelers; "backpacks and bubble baths": a concern for the environment mixes with a desire for luxury; "alone in a crowd": people search for solitude but desire interaction;"profit and pleasure": people continue to work on vacation and have fun on business trips; "romance and rug rats": people want to spend more time with their family but they seek more time away from the kids.
With all that, the bottom of the ocean and the moon loom as potential destinations, just as they did in 1969. But 30 years later, technology has drawn those futuristic locations much closer to the realm of possibility for travelers.
1 For example, see: Robert A. Beck, "Operation Breakthrough," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 4 (February 1969), pp. 6-18; and Robert A. Wolf," Metrotran 2000," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 4 (May 1969), pp. 36-41, 58.