Imagine it: a high-tech hotel featuring robots that takes your luggage, retinal security locks, in-room body heat sensors and on-tap O2. It sounds far-fetched, but the real shock is that hotels worldwide are increasingly integrating technologies straight from the latest sci-fi flicks.
Total tech hotels and resorts from Tokyo to New York are offering business and leisure travellers futuristic conveniences far beyond the standard iPod docking stations and bedside controls. It’s now a race to unveil the latest and greatest in futuristic finds and impress even the most tech-obsessed guest.
State-of-the-art hotel innovations come in all shiny shapes and sizes, but one effect these sophisticated technologies all share is a resounding wide-eyed, jaw-dropped reaction among baby boomers and millennials alike. Best of all, you don’t need to be a bona fide secret agent or hold a PHD in engineering to figure it all out. Today’s hotel tech gadgets are user-friendly and completely intuitive, activated by a simple touch, hover or glance.
Flip through the gallery and take a gander at some of the world’s most cutting-edge offerings on the hotel market today. Total tech hotels are raising the technology bar for the entire hospitality industry.
High-Tech Hotel Innovations Around The World. Slideshow text follows for mobile readers.
High-Tech Hotel Innovations Around The World
Eventi Hotel, New York City
Travellers visiting the Big Apple will get their technology fill at Eventi’s unique Business Bar. The New York hotel provides practically every gadget you can think of. Order from a selection of Apple products, like the latest Macbook Pros and iPads, reading tablets and a smorgasbord of tech accessories, such as headphones, chargers, adapters and more. The most unusual gadget on the menu: a virtually indestructible GoPro camera, an essential item for extreme sport enthusiasts who want to capture it all. Rates start at $349 USD a night.
Trump International Hotel & Tower, Toronto
You’ve seen them on MTV’s Cribs, but now the masses can enjoy the wonders of mirror televisions in their hotel suites. The hidden televisions are both beautiful and convenient. Switch from watching an on-demand rom-com to applying your lipstick all on one single wall-mounted device. Trump suites also feature bedside touch control panels, which light up as your hand approaches the screen. Summer rates start at $490 CAD a night.
Aria Resort and Casino, Las Vegas
Las Vegas doesn’t skimp on style and neither does the luxurious Aria Resort and Casino. Aria’s signature blend of luxury and technology is still creating a storm in Sin City (the hotel opened back in 2010). Guests are given a seemingly average-looking key card but they are anything but ordinary. Aria uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), which eliminates the problem of demagnetization and minimizes card failures. Guests can even switch rooms without having a new key assigned. Eventually, this technology will allow guests to unlock rooms using a smartphone. Rates start at $179 USD a night.
Eccleston Square Hotel, London
Don’t let the traditional façade fool you – this London hotel offers groundbreaking technology throughout its 39 luxury rooms. The most impressive feature by far is the ingenious SmartGlass Technology, a futuristic system that turns the washroom glass from crystal clear to frost at the touch of a button. Choose transparency for a spacious, light filled suite or switch off for privacy and guarantees you’ll spend 10 minutes giddily tinkering with the fabulous feature. Rates start at £175 a night.
Scarp Ridge Lodge, Colorado
High on the slopes of the pristine Rocky Mountains, sits intimate Scarp Ridge Lodge. The Crested Butte property is historically lux. Built in 1885 and completely restored to its highest grandeur, the lodge is surprisingly outfitted with a state-ofthe-art oxygen system. The technology is designed to help guests acclimatize to the12,000ft altitude by delivering oxygen rich air through in-room ports and individual headsets. Nothing like fresh O2 to start your morning! For rates, visit the hotel’s website here.
The Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong
As part of an astonishing $HK450 million renovation, The Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong recently unveiled its stunning new interiors, showcasing an ultra-modern transformation. The luxurious suites are customized into five languages across a bevy of touchscreen gadgets and entertainment technology. The divine washrooms feature a unique ‘spa button’ that displays the ‘Do Not Disturb’ command, fine-tunes the lighting to a candlelight glow, and plays soft spa melodies. Is there such a thing as pure tech bliss? For rates, visit the Peninsula’s website here.
theWit, Chicago
Often dubbed Chicago’s trendiest hotel, theWit is always on the tech ball. The spacious suites are decked out with flashy televisions, countless control systems and fantastic furnishings, but the one gadget we can’t get enough of is the advanced inroom body heat sensor. No more tinkering with the air conditioning – the high-tech system self-regulates and completely personalizes the heating and cooling. Rates start at $269 USD a night.
Nine Zero Hotel, Boston
Feel like a modern-day spy at the swanky Nine Zero Hotel. Guests prone to losing keycards will appreciate the Cloud Nine Suite’s futuristic Iris Scan Technology. Simply peer into the sensor for keyless access to the sky-high suite. Even celebrities like Bill Clinton, have tried it! For rates, visit Nine Zero Hotel’s site.
Yotel, New York City
Time Square’s pioneering Yotel New York is cleverly designed from top to bottom with both radical and practical innovations, from person-less check in to origami beds. But neither can hold an LED light to the hotel’s Yobot, the coolest gadget of them all. Yobot is a giant robotic arm that stores your luggage for you. The space age hotel is haute high-tech and even refers to rooms as “cabins” and the front desk as “Mission Control.” Rates start at $214 USD a night.