Smart Hotel Guest Rooms Are Almost Here
Photo Credit: Josh Weiss, Hilton Worldwide's vice president of brand and guest technology, is pictured. Hilton plans on rolling out more smart guestrooms over the next few years. Hilton Worldwide
Skift Take
The smart guest room of the future is still in development. A strong return on investment for hotel owners who invest in updated technology, however, will help push these innovations into the mainstream.
The era of the smart home is upon us. But how far are we from the era of the smart hotel?
Technology companies and hotel brands alike are working to crack the various problems that come with bringing innovations like voice control into the hospitality environment at scale.
There are many challenges, like meeting the needs of hotel owners and grappling with the limitations of consumer technology, that are still being worked out. Guest privacy, as well, looms large as an uncertain aspect of this technology revolution.
At Hilton Worldwide, experimentation is an ongoing focus as more smart guest rooms are deployed. There's no one-size-fits-all technology solution yet, but the company is making progress on improvements for both the guest experience and behind-the-scenes hotel operations.
"The answer is finding the sweet spot for how can we take the right pieces from the consumer technology experience, versus just saying, 'Hey, everybody has got a smart speaker at home, so let's
