THE EMIRATES ACADEMY OF HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT

SERVICE MARKETING PROJECT 2011

Hotel Room of the Future

[Project Report]

Group Members:

Assel Kabylova

Christopher Jarodd

David Jantsky

Liza Hejlesen

Lorenz Icho

Olga Kulikova

Sabrina Swoboda

Svenja Theuring

2997kwords

[Hotel Room of the Future – How will the hotel romm of 2030 look? What new innovations

will allow for a better guest experience inside their room?]

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Table of Contents

1.0 Vision .................................................................................................................................................. 2

2.0 Mission ................................................................................................................................................ 2

3.0 Project Scope ....................................................................................................................................... 2

3.1 Description of the concept ............................................................................................... 2

4.0 Business Case ...................................................................................................................................... 3

4.1 Business Drivers Definition .............................................................................................. 3

4.2 Target Market Needs ....................................................................................................... 3

4.3 Target Market Needs Satisfaction ................................................................................... 4

4.3.1 Service delivery mechanism ...................................................................................................... 5

4.3.2 Comfort and Convenience ......................................................................................................... 5

4.3.3 Uniqueness ................................................................................................................................ 5

4.3.4 Respond to competitors ............................................................................................................ 6

4.3.5 Fast consistent service .............................................................................................................. 6

4.3.6 Safety/Security .......................................................................................................................... 6

4.3.7 Strong marketing campaign ...................................................................................................... 6

5.0 Project Plan .......................................................................................................................................... 7

5.1 Timelines ......................................................................................................................... 7

Step 1: Planning, designing and laying room out on paper ................................................................ 7

Step 2: Frame the walls ...................................................................................................................... 7

Step 3: Wire the Room ....................................................................................................................... 7

Step 4: Heating Duct and Air Condition ............................................................................................ 7

Step 5: Sheetrock and paint ................................................................................................................ 8

Step 6: Carpet and decorate ................................................................................................................ 8

5.2 Resources required to implement the project .................................................................. 8

5.2.1 Human Resources ...................................................................................................................... 8

5.2.2 Other Resources ........................................................................................................................ 9

6.0 Project Budget ..................................................................................................................................... 9

6.1 Break-even piont ........................................................................................................... 11

7.0 Proof of Concept................................................................................................................................ 11

7.1 Solutions to problems and issues that might occur ........................................................ 12

7.1.1 Security issues ......................................................................................................................... 12

7.1.2 Cleaning solutions ................................................................................................................... 13

8.0 Appendix ........................................................................................................................................... 14

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1.0 Vision

To be the most innovative and recognized “one room” concept in the world.

2.0 Mission

MyRoom is an innovative concept of designing a sustainable and personal lodging

experience with focus on business convenience. We attempt to mainly use green

resources in order to decrease the carbon footprint of our community. With the help of

our suppliers and well planned business strategy we aim to be the market leader

within our field. This can be realized through consistency in maintaining our strategy

and continuously receiving valuable feedback from clients, partners and employees.

3.0 Project Scope

3.1 Description of the concept

As the race for product and service innovation has heated up in the recent years, we

take note of the vital necessity that it embodies.

Our mission is to be at the front of this race within our business category and bring

the future a little bit closer for all our stakeholders.

We rely on the ability to offer the highest standards of comfort, design, technology

and service.

The MyRoom differentiates itself from other similar products by combining several

business drivers that blend into a unique mix of elegance and practicality.

Based on the idea of minimalism and high-technology, the MyRoom will be

customizable and personal. The first encounter with technology will be outside the

room with the guest using his\her fingerprint to access. Inside, he or she will have the

opportunity to choose the ambience through the customized walls that with the help of

technology can act as a TV screen displaying the image of choise.

The idea of a personal experience does not stop with the walls; to further enhance the

guest experience the MyRoom is equipped with the highly advanced and

customizable bed „Somnus Neu“. This bed is not just a sleeping place, it is a „comfort

zone“ that is equipped with colorful light program, a large TV screen, an iPod\iPhone

dock station and several other tools to make the experience in and on bed enjoyable.

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With business travelers being the target group, the MyRoom will be ready to satisfy

any technological need and service that our guest expects, it will even exceed

expectations to assure the highest level of quality and satisfaction.

Equipment such as an iPhone plugging station, a desk, a computer, a printer, a fax

machine, a high-tech wireless keyboard and a telephone will be ready and waiting to

be enjoyed.

The bathroom will be equipped with an interactive mirror that displays the weather,

news and stock market updates so that no time is lost while taking care of hygienic

matters.

To further ease the proceedings for both guest and staff, a Japanese made toilet with

self-cleaning ability and choise of seat-temperature has been chosen to equip the

MyRoom together with a stand-up shower cabin.

As we are environmentally friendly and aware, the MyRoom will only be powered by

solar energy and labeled recycling bins will be available in a small cabinet inside the

room.

4.0 Business Case

4.1 Business Drivers Definition

Business drivers can be defined as major factors and resources which provide the

essential marketing, sales and operational functions of a business. There is no definite

way of opting for the right drivers, however for the “My Room 2030” the paramount

values of the hospitality industry as “making the guest feel home away from home”

will be focused on. The arising question is, what does it take to fulfill guests’

expectations and making their stay memorable and care-free? What are the target

customer needs?

4.2 Target Market Needs

There are many diverse wants and demands within the hospitality industry and within

business travelers specifically. For the purpose of the project, the main ones will be

focused on. A businessman away from home needs:

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Business Centre services (sending out faxes, printing/scanning documents,

internet, etc.)

Meeting facilities

In-room media (television, sound system, etc.)

Fast, convenient service (laundry, room service, etc.)

Concierge services

Comfortable furniture (bed, sofa, etc.)

Relaxation (Jacuzzi bathtubs, massage shower, etc.)

Entertainment

Options of personalizing the room

4.3 Target Market Needs Satisfaction

Facilities, services and other factors that will attract customers to “My Room” can be

presented in a “Flower” scheme:

Core

Service delivery mechanism

Comfort

Uniqueness

Respond to competitors

Fast consistent service

Safety

Convenience

Strong marketing campaign

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4.3.1 Service delivery mechanism

Businessmen are heavy users of business centers and concierge services in hotels. In

order to bring the business centre into the room, they will feature a fully equipped

desk with computer, scanner, printer, multiple-line telephone and fax. This will allow

guests to use services offered by most hotels in the business centers only in the

privacy and convenience of their rooms. Guests will also be able to use concierge

services without leaving the room. One of the means to access it would be the hotel

web-site and smart-phone application, with all the destination information imaginable.

The bathroom will feature a touch screen computer behind the mirror-glass, which

will allow customers to browse through the news or make notes while grooming

themselves before leaving to work.

4.3.2 Comfort and Convenience

By definition, five-star hotel rooms are expected to be of outmost convenience and

comfort. Making guests comfortable can be achieved by placing relaxation zones.

One of these would be the spa bathtub and rain shower with special lighting, where

one can relax after a long day. As for convenience, businessmen needs were also

considered. The space in standard hotel rooms is usually limited and therefore only a

certain amount of furniture pieces can be permanently in place. For this reason,

convertible chairs and tables will be there to create more seats and table space, in case

guest will need to have an in-room meeting.

4.3.3 Uniqueness

It is assumed that the room concept is unique and exceptional, and therefore to gain

the leading position within the market, features like elite design and personalizable

facilities will be promoted. For instance, there will be laser scanning check-in for

loyal customers, option of saving personal date of each guest, easy and consistent

connection with the hotel via web or smart-phones.

For those who seek for technological advancement in hotel rooms of the future, “My

Room” will not disappoint with its abundance of built-in entertainment,

personalization, cleaning and web-browsing features.

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4.3.4 Respond to competitors

It is not only the unique product, but also a proper respond to competitors will attract

and retain potential customers. The hotel room will provide unforgettable and pleasant

memories by using the latest technological development and futuristic design and to

stay ahead of competitors, “My Room” will be revised, developed and modernized on

a constant basis.

4.3.5 Fast consistent service

As mentioned earlier, if the services can be brought into the room, it will be done. As

for the ones that have to be accommodated outside, like the laundry and room service,

they will have a fixed time-frame for completion. Room service and laundry menu

will have the amount of time needed to deliver a dish or a clothing item

cleaned/pressed.

4.3.6 Safety/Security

The first security system that guest encounters is the room-lock. Finger-print door-

locks will be set in order to avoid the hiatus of lost or forgotten keys. Nevertheless, if

the guest prefers not to leave the prints, they could go for the conventional key option.

It is crucial to remember that guests will leave a substantial amount of personal data

when checking-in, or synching their computers/smart-phones with the equipment in-

room. Upon client request the information could be saved and used to personalization

of service for their future stays or it could also be erased to ensure its privacy and

safety.

Such facilities as fire/security systems, safe boxes will be set by default as a part of

any standard room.

4.3.7 Strong marketing campaign

The room design and structure will be distributed as a brand and a concept that could

be installed in high-end business hotels around the world. It would attract potential

clients by customer recognition of the name and product of “My Room”. In order to

create brand awareness among hotel owners/developers, the product will be heavily

promoted through participation in hospitality exhibition and conventions,

advertisement in industry periodicals. To bring the room concept to the target market,

conventional advertisement means like travel television program and travel/fashion

magazine feature will be used.

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5.0 Project Plan

Within the Project Plan, MyRoom has to develop the exact timeline, to build the hotel

room and identify and allocate the resources needed, with its occurring costs.

5.1 Timelines

To start, there are several procedures described to build a hotel room. However, we

feel that the following is the most suiting for our concept. The procedure is divided in

6 steps and fully identifies the time needed to build the room.

Step 1: Planning, designing and laying room out on paper

This is the planning stage of the project and therefore the creative and most

time-consuming part, because one has to identify all the resources needed to

build the room and has to think about how to realize the project, including all

factors, such as health and safety, environment, costs, etc. Therefore we

allocate 6 months in total for this stage.

Step 2: Frame the walls

Chances are that some walls already exist in the room, since MyRoom does

not have to build the building, but just one room, so this would save a lot of

time and money. Therefore we only assign 1 day for this task.

Step 3: Wire the Room

This is a very crucial part for our project, since MyRoom is full with

technology and therefore requires a lot of electric installations that support the

technological facilities for our guests, such as the integrated business centre,

the lighted walls, the interactive mirrors, etc. In total we assign 3 days to this

task, to ensure flawless work and proper functioning.

Step 4: Heating Duct and Air Condition

A very important part to ensure the well-being of our guests is the heating/air

conditioning. However, installing an AC is something basic and easy to

realize, therefore we assign 1 day for this task.

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Step 5: Sheetrock and paint

Even though MyRoom mainly contains of high technology, that include

lighted walls, etc. we still have to do the basic things to create a room, such as

installing the sheetrock and painting. Since this is a very basic task, we only

assign 1 day.

Step 6: Carpet and decorate

Since MyRoom stands for comfort and innovation, carpeting and decorating

the room is one of the main stages and very important for the happiness of our

guests. Since decoration is a very creative part and will always be changed a

little bit, we assign 3 days for this task.

5.2 Resources required to implement the project

5.2.1 Human Resources

Department Staff & Tasks

Project Development Architect, Construction firm, Owner, etc.

Engineering Department Electrical installations, pluming,

maintenance etc.

IT Technical installations and support

Finance Cost identification and allocation of

money

Housekeeping Cleaning and maintenance

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5.2.2 Other Resources

The first important resource we will need will be the capital to build up the hotel

rooms. We calculated like you can see in 6.0 Project Bugdet that we will need just for

the furniture approximatly $ 13,944 per room.

We will also need a hotel chain which provides us with hotel rooms in different hotels

around the world to create and implement our MyRoom. When we have these hotel

rooms and the capital we can start with the human resources mentioned before to

construct the room. Therefore we need also material like wallpapers, carpet, heading

and air condition if not available at this time and our special designed furniture.

We also will need a bit of space in the hotel lobby to put up our self check-in and

check-out counter to give our customers the opportunity for a fast arrival and

departure.

6.0 Project Budget

Since it is not possible to find the actual prices of features we want to

implement in MyRoom, all prices included in the budget is based on "similar"

products at the current market.

We have only included the special features that are extra materials compared

to a basic hotel room. Therefore sheets, curtains, soaps, etc. is not included.

All prices are calculated with a whole seller price of 30 % discount.

Every number is rounded up to the closest full number.

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Price Amount Total

Living room

Bed $ 2,100 1 $ 2,100

Stimulating Lights $ 170 1 $ 170

Automatic Lights $ 173 1 $ 173

Safe with Fingerprint $ 172 1 $ 172

Multi Lab $ 182 1 Scanner, printer & fax $ 182

Pillow Menu $ 7 6 per pillow $ 42

Floor Heating $ 420 1 $ 420

Door with Fingerprint $ 3,626 1 $ 3,626

Censored Minibar $ 270 1 $ 270

Stereo connected with

IPhone, included alarm

clock with light therapy

$ 381 1 $ 381

Bathroom

Rain Shower $ 2,100 1 Incl. Stimulating

Lights & Background

Music

$ 2,100

Jacuzzi $ 1,050 1 Incl. Massage

Functions

$ 1,050

Floor Heating $ 420 1 $ 420

Interactive Mirror $ 1,400 1 $ 1,400

Automatic Lights $ 173 1 $ 173

Window walls $ 420 2 $ 840

Toilet Self-cleaning $ 175 1 $ 175

Telefon $ 50 1 $ 50

TV screen $ 200 1 $ 200

Total expances $ 13,944

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6.1 Break-even piont

Building costs per room: $ 13,944

Rent to pay per room per month: $ 2,000 -> $ 24,000 per year

Total costs: $ 37,944

Room charge per night: $ 300

Break-even: 126.48 days till break-even

7.0 Proof of Concept

When designing the hotel room of 2030, we had to take a lot of issues and ideas into

place and discuss them. Everything from size of the room, design, colors, market,

technology and so on.

In the process we decided to create a: ‘MyRoom’, my room is a specially designed

room for the future. It focuses on new technology and relaxation as well as being

more adaptable for the guest. The way we want to market MyRoom, is to start a

company called MyRoom. The company will exist of MyRoom designers that will

design a MyRoom for different Hotels. For example a business hotel can market itself

with the ability for the guest to have a MyRoom, which will be highly technological

and a new experience for their guests. This means we have to invest less money in

building a MyRoom hotel, when we sell the idea and concept to hotels. All rooms will

be specially designed for different hotels based on their preferences and so on. For

example if there is a new hotel where drilling of cables and drains is not a problem.

Or an already exciting hotel, where we have to take into consideration that the rooms

are already built.

The MyRoom Company will work in two ways, one as a designer company that sell

the different ideas of a MyRoom to hotels and Hotel chains, as well as a consultancy

firms for the hotel. How much will the hotel invest in a MyRoom, how many. And we

will tailor make the hotel room for the hotel for them to get higher guest satisfactory

as well as having uniqueness in the market. It is up to the hotel how much they want

to invest in technology and other MyRoom solutions. But the technology will be there

and to a reasonable price. What is unique is that the hotels will have to pay for a

unique idea from MyRoom and the special design and technological solutions.

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7.1 Solutions to problems and issues that might occur

7.1.1 Security issues

7.1.1.1 Room Key

The first point where our guests get in contact with the security of our hotel will be

the question if the customer is willing to give us his fingerprint so that we are able to

offer the print as key for the room. In this case the customer will get the opportunity

to decide if he or she wants that we delete the fingerprint immediately after the check-

out or if we can keep the fingerprint for the next time. The fingerprint we are allowed

to keep will be transferred to a computer or a fixed disk without any internet

connection to make sure that nobody can steal the information via hacking.

For the customers who are not willing to give us the fingerprint we will present some

alternatives. One of these alternatives will be that the guest can use his smart phone as

room key. Or the guest can use the soft laser scanner.

7.1.1.2 Guest Information

We want to make it that the guest feels home in his hotel room, but therefore we need

a lot of information from him/her. How to get all of the data? The client just has to

connect his smart phone with a dock station in the room and the system will use for

example the pictures to fill up some picture frames or transfer the contact list so that

the guest has all the numbers available in every room.

The question is what to do with all information after the check-out? Here again the

guest can decide what to do. At the check-in he will be asked if all information should

be deleted or if we can keep them for the next stay too. Of course will all data

disappear completely after the check-out from the room, so that the next guest will not

find any information from the previous customer.

7.1.1.3 General Safety

There will always be someone at the hotel reception and during the night we will have

at least one security man.

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7.1.2 Cleaning solutions

Since MyRoom has a lot of white surfaces the cleaning process has to be highly

effective.

Therefore we intend to use nanotechnology as a cleaning method to our rooms.

New studies have discovered a way to clean with nanotechnology.

The water is sprayed on all the surfaces and forms a thin water film the laser beam

makes the effect of disinfection with the heat and after that the suction machine sucks

up the particles.

This technology does need any damaging chemicals, only water and a laser beam and

therefore contributes to the idea of living green.

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8.0 Appendix

While working on our concept with MyRoom we came across some challenges and

ideas regarding other departments which interact with the room, such as housekeeping

and room service.

We thought about how our concept and design would affect these departments, for

example we came up with a few questions such as: how would the housekeeping

clean the room of 2030? How would food be ordered and delivered to the room of

2030?

We decided to challenge ourselves and invent a few items for both departments to

kind of level them to the design and concept of the room. Below are the pictures and

description of each item we invented, although we would like to mention that in the

descriptions below we refer to MyRoom as if it would be a Hotel.

Room Service Trolley

The room service trolley of MyRoom

would have the same slick design as the

room; we improved it by giving it a

magnetic “engine” , this would reduce the

noise caused by the trolleys during

transport. We also added a station for the

AI, this way it would have access to the

trolley and be ready to assist the guest at

any time.

Lastly, the trolley can be controlled in three

different ways, the first is the traditional way being pushed by a room service

staff, secondly it could be programmed by staff to deliver to a specific destination

and finally it could be controlled by the AI itself. This would be very useful

during high occupancy periods or when the room service is short on staff or really

busy.

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Personal Check in / Check Out Pad

The PCIOP for short is a small device the

size of an IPhone 5 given specifically to

the loyalty guests of the MyRoom. It is a

small device that is able to check you in

and out from the room at anytime

anywhere in the world. It has a swipe slot

for credit cards where the guest can pay

directly instead of online or in the lobby.

The PCIOP has several other features such

as selecting room type, duration of stay,

amenities and even an option to follow up on current bills for example from the

mini bar. There is also an option for check out, the guest is not forced to check

out at the front desk instead he can use the device directly from the room,

elevator or even one of the Hotel outlets.

Artificial Intelligence (A.I)

The AI is a very important part of

MyRoom, it has access to all main areas of

the Hotel as well

as in the room,

except the

bathroom since it

is a private area.

Although after a

certain hour the

access is revoked until morning.

The AI can handle any guest request for any department, store it in the database,

categorize it etc.

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MyRoom Door Lock

The Door lock has a simple design and has

a combination of three different key

systems. Basically the guest can choose to

activate the lock via fingerprint scan, a

code combination or to download a

application for a smartphone so that the

customer just need to hold his or her

mobilephone next to the Door lock. With

these options we want to make sure that

the guest can choose the look that suits his

or her security preferences the most.

Pictures of the MyRoom

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