As IHG’s InterContinental Hotels & Resorts brand celebrates its 70th birthday, it has collaborated with futurist Faith Popcorn to consider the next 70 years of the guest experience, service, destinations as well as hotel design.
Popcorn believes that virtual reality (VR) escapism and immersive brand experiences will shape service and guest experiences in the future of luxury travel. More specifically, she points to the following trends:
Clanning Experiences: VR technology will enable real-time sharing of adventure and luxury among friends or family who are spread around the world. It will mean that guests and their loved ones can enjoy simulated adventures in real-time, whether it be a walk through the Serengeti or an ocean swim with extinct marine life.
Customized Wardrobes: Hotels will partner with fashion brands to sponsor guests’ in-room wardrobes, complete with 3D printed designer clothing. Wardrobes will be customized to suit personal taste based on online shopping habits, size and local weather conditions.
Fantasy Escapes: Luxury as we know it today will become so accessible that consumers will seek more extreme and un-attainable experiences. Hotels will provide guests with game-like environments for fantasy escapes, which could involve living out danger in a safe environment.
By 2086, as space itself becomes the ultimate luxury, Popcorn asserts VR will evolve interior design so that it can be tailored by guests, and luxury travel will offer access to never-before-explored locations and immersive experiences. She further predicts:
Building Down: With 70% of the world’s population set to be urban by 2050, the design and structure of luxury hotels will change dramatically with brands set to adopt new architectural solutions such as ‘building down’, to fit to the changing landscape.
Immersive Spaces: Guests will be able to design spaces specifically tailored to their personal aesthetics and needs. From customizable holographic wall art to fully adjustable interior design, guests will be treated to state of the art facilities to ensure maximum satisfaction and relaxation.
World Experience: Different wings or rooms in hotels will be created to offer guests a taste of cultural experiences from different corners of the world – from golden Caribbean beaches to white blanket ski slopes, all located in the same hotel.
At the same time as its celebrates this milestone, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts has teamed up with interior designer Tara Bernerd for the development of the brand’s new design philosophy.
To that end, the brand is developing the Songjiang Quarry Hotel in China, set to be built in a 90m deep quarry outside of Shanghai. Boasting cascading waterfalls, extreme sport facilities such as bungee jumping and rock climbing, underwater bedrooms and cutting-edge conference facilities, it is set to be the greenest hotel ever built, according to IHG, with plans to power the luxury resort with geothermal and solar energy.