How Technology is Redefining the Hotel Room: The Rise of the Remote Year

Flexibility and technology are key in delivering the innovative experiences today’s travellers are seeking. The gap year will become a “remote year”. Now that virtual learning is more prevalent than ever before, we believe in new opportunities to redefine studying with “remote years” across culturally immersive hostel, hotels and co-working spaces.

As this generation grows and enters the workforce, this will become the future of work and travel. With a laptop, good internet connection and a bit of planning, you can work from anywhere in the world. And with hotels offering more amenities for digital nomads, it’s easier than ever to find a comfortable place to stay.

Flexibility is the name of the game among both guests and across business models – along with a strong focus on technology to support differentiated business models. Offering customers the freedom to move from location to location, and access to strong technology and self service. 

As for corporate culture, properties need to be investing in technology to grow their business. Allowing brands to allocate its capital strategically – especially in building its own digital strategy for the long term is crucial. 

Working away - A home from home

The new black is to create a home away from home, which offers entrepreneurs and planners an opening to innovate and consider how to purpose-build new or existing rooms in order for people's lives to change as a result of cultural and consumer trends that have strengthened over the last 18 months.

A tiny portion of new-age entrepreneurs and digital nomads have spent years moving about the world working remotely, absorbing a variety of cultures in between dips. The recent slowdown has brought fresh viewpoints to both the employer and employee, offering lots of room for innovation.

The ever-increasing demand for remote work will also boost the need for extended stays in hotels, as customers look for flexible settings with all of the amenities of their own home plus hotel services. The more adaptable and nimble hotel brands will be able to modify existing spaces and provide a range of customisable working environments that match each requirement, and. provide the necessary technical capabilities and bandwidth.

Is it acceptable to provide both a wireless and a wired internet connection to business travellers by default? The availability of services such as Google Chromecast streaming, the Metaverse, and other immersive technologies in the future. These will all be important differentiators for your product.

Millions of individuals first tried virtual fitness from home for the first time during the epidemic, when going to a gym was out of the question. Many now refuse to return. The popularity of Peloton exercise classes and revenue surged as a result of the convenience and availability of the technology and content. Now we must come up with new methods to make this experience more mobile. The Peloton app became available on Sky+ recently, bringing us one step closer to streaming fitness classes alongside Netflix from your room while you stay.

Lululemon MIRROR

Lululemon MIRROR activity readout

Why not check out the Lululemon fitness mirror? With a single push of a button, your needs in the gym are met. The technology behind the mirror is simple to use, allowing you to focus all of your attention on your exercise. Any area may be adorned with MIRROR as an accent.

It's sleek, slim design takes up only two feet of space—making the mirror the smart gym you’ll actually want to show off as a feature.

Hassle-Free Hybrid Spaces Are on Demand

The hotel business is confronting a new challenge: the demands of a typical hotel room have grown dramatically. These rooms are now a sanctuary, oasis, workplace, meeting room, and sleeping quarters. The majority of visitors are searching for a place that is accessible, flexible, adaptable, and comfortable while providing ease.

When you spend years traveling across the country, staying in luxury resorts and working remotely, it's remarkable how poorly set up the in-room desk areas are. There are numerous methods to enhance furnishings, even if it isn't a chair that's uncomfortable or not suited for lengthy periods of sitting. There may be a problem with the plug, lack of illumination, an unsuitable location for the plug, or a desk that is too tall. Then consider Wi-Fi or technological services built on top.

With the understanding that technology must be incorporated, we believe that the new workspace should offer easy-to-use design with contactless options, hassle free connectivity, and sound options for online meetings.

Consider a hybrid workplace that makes it seem like you're living at home rather than working.

With the trend of employees leaving for remote working environments and decreasing use of office space, organisations need more collaborative places to connect their staff in order to encourage creativity, promote communication whether it's face-to-face or via Zoom.

The hybrid hotel has begun

The hotel meeting room, on the other hand, is not in danger of dying. We believe that the hotel room may now provide a new audience with additional possibilities. With significant changes in the professional environment, the hospitality industry must adjust its existing offer to better meet changing expectations. Working remotely is becoming increasingly essential for organisations, and working from anywhere will become the new standard.

We are moving towards truly holistic remote spaces that are adaptable, accessible, technologically enabled, flexible spaces purpose-built in a lovely inspiring environment. Creating a local offer that considers today's working world changes along with their overall well-being and environmental concerns is a no-brainer!