Digital Living – the Smart Choice for Hoteliers
The desire for tailored entertainment and greater connectivity has resulted in the UK’s smart home market registering faster growth than any other country in Europe. As the UK switches on to interacting with voice-control speakers and directing media through smart TVs, the demand for even greater control and interaction with the living environment continues. A 2018 survey conducted by analysts Price Waterhouse Cooper predicts further acceleration, with the expectation that in 2019, £10.8bn will be spent on smart devices across the UK.
Devices such as smart TVs and smart assistants are recognised as gateway products, opening the path to a portfolio of additional smart home solutions. Analysis shows that these smaller ticket smart devices are being consumed now and are then serving as a springboard to broader adoption of ‘digital living’.
For hoteliers, the race is on. Hotels – at least those at the premium end of the market - are expected to offer an experience that exceeds the home environment. Guests want the best beds, power showers, sleek and stylish design. Digital living is the next step. Put simply, if guests already enjoy an element of connectivity at home, they will want to be further wowed by their hotel stay. Forward-thinking hoteliers are seeking to embrace the digital living trend and to tackle its challenges head-on – creating spaces that build on the connected home reality to deliver a guest experience that is comfortable, convenient and memorable.
Digital living is raising new challenges in terms of connectivity, control and integration. The idea is not to innovate for the sake of innovation. Digital living – certainly in the hotel environment – must offer practical and seamless improvements to the everyday. Crucially, performance must be failsafe and intuitive if guests are to truly benefit.
Hafele is making digital dynamics easy to achieve thanks to its Häfele Connect solutions. Hotel rooms can be transformed into ‘Smart Rooms’ through the use of coordinated chips, hubs and controllers – systems that are designed to be modular and expandable to keep pace with digital living trends. Guests are given control of their environment via their smartphone, tablet or a wireless wall switch – controlling not only smart devices but also connecting with smart furniture. Now, lights can be controlled, doors and furniture opened or locked, guests can even switch on the coffee machine without having to get out of bed. The result is a space which is geared to deliver an impressive and carefree stay.
Our digital living expert Paul Smith will be presenting a seminar at Hotel360 on 18th – 19th September showcasing the possibilities afforded by integration and connectivity and outlining the easy route to success provided by Häfele.
The outlook is clear. Digital living take-up on the domestic front is advancing at a rapid rate. Hoteliers at the vanguard of innovation and style are staying ahead of the curve, embracing the concept and re-imagining the hotel experience so that guests might receive the full benefit of this exciting world of integration and control. The time to connect is now.
NEXT READ: Internet of Things: Creating Smart Hotels
