This conceptual image shows what a hotel room of the future might look like.


An early look at the hotel of tomorrow


This is project called HOT – Hotel of Tomorrow, conducted by HD Hospitality Design magazine and Gettys, a Chicago-based design firm, in order to create the hotel rooms of the next generation prior to others. This is not simply amending the existing amenities but creating totally new ones. The ideas are really futuristic starting from nano-painted walls, self-cleaning sheets, bed converting to shower, to health-measuring floor, and fashion consulting system.
This seems to be a real step forward in hotel design and increasing customer satisfaction.
Definitely, the hotels will implement them first will benefit from increased attention. The problem here is how to maintain all this complicated system. And wouldn’t it lead to increased costs. On the other hand, won’t it be too much for a customer, who will need to learn how to use these new amenities, and there are still some technophobes, and this could lead to a an inverse reaction, that customers would get annoyed by the complexity of the offer.
I think that the best is to find the golden middle between innovations and the classical offer, and introduce the innovations progressively.

To read the article, click here.

Nonstop Growth for Online Travel

This article is emphasizing on the online travel booking as the main source of revenue that is 39% of all travel revenue by 2011, according to report from JupiterResearch.
This article shows the importance of the Internet travel distribution channel and proves with the results obtained by the research that it will continue gaining power, as the customer purchasing power grows, products online become more sophisticated and compliance is enhanced.
This article confirms how it is extremely important for a hotel or an airline to have its own online reservation system, as well as other online channels of distribution.

European hotel guests get room keys on mobile phones thanks to NFC

This article is about the next step in improvement of frequent business travels satisfaction. This seems to be the logical step in this process of enhancement.
It is about a new system to get your key and room number on your telephone, thus no need for business travelers to pass at the front desk. In order to benefit from the offer, one has to have a NFC (Near Field Communications) compatible mobile and ask for the service while reserving online. The predictions are that by 2010, 50 % of the mobiles will be NFC compatible. The business travelers are likely to be the early adaptors. This system exists for the moment in the pilot version, but the frequent business travelers seem to love it.
I this that this step is important because it shows that there is always a way in improvement and hotels in order to succeed must constantly innovate, because the customers needs become more and more sophisticated. And once one hotel adapts a system, the others will be obliged to follow them in order to maintain their competitive advantage.
To read the article, click here: http://www.contactlessnews.com/library/2006/10/05/european-hotel-guests-get-room-keys-on-mobile-phones-thanks-to-nfc/

Travelocity Incentives Gives the Gift of Travel with Launch of Hotel Gift Cards

Travelocity, the American sixth largest online travel company, based in Texas, has recently launched Travelocity Incentives, a unique brand for the moment in the travel industry that represents an entirely new distribution channel, which is based on selling travel gift cards.
These gift cards of $25, $50 and $100 value are sold online and in more than 1000 retail locations and lets customers redeem them at more than 30000 hotels worldwide in more than 140 countries.
This is a real step forward in selling travel offer, and makes it easier to purchase and share the gift of travel, letting people decide at a convenient time for them which hotel to chose.
This completely new distribution channel has a great potential to develop in the future.
Too read the article: http://www.wiredhotelier.com/news/154000470/4029341.html

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