The Hotel of the Future or is the Future already here?

The German hotel market is growing: 571 new hotels and 85,115 new guest rooms emerged in Germany between 2017 and 2019. At the same time, the number of overnight stays in the last eight years has always exceeded the figures from the previous years. But what’s going to happen next? What should hotel branches now do to ensure their future success? And what effects will this have on hotel bathrooms in particular? Villeroy & Boch’s e-book on the hotel (bathroom) yields some interesting insights.

Global mega-trends and the pioneering role of hotels

The hotel of the future operates against the backdrop of global mega-trends, which, according to experts and trend researchers, will decisively shape everyday reality in the coming years. Globalisation and urbanisation, the desire for self-realisation and individuality and the demographic change will all have consequences for the hotel of the future. Hotels must unite digitalisation opportunities with the individual requirements of modern people while satisfying the demand for sustainability. The objective is an autonomous, self-sufficient hotel. And what about hotel bathrooms? This is where the guest’s personal well-being must be given top priority in terms of all the technical possibilities available.

Individuality, health, sustainability and biophilic design

The scientist Dr. Alexander Rieck, Head of the “Future Hotel” joint project at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering and Organisation (IAO) in Stuttgart, Germany, and founder of the LAVA architectural firm, explains: "The bathroom of the future is adaptive, it must be able to adapt to different requirements and users. New technologies and products will make bathrooms increasingly customisable. That means that bathrooms will become “transformer bathrooms”, changing to suit the situation and user. For example, in addition to colouring, the height and shape of the taps, washbasins and WC automatically adapt to body size, and mirrors can be transformed into a computer display with numerous entertainment programmes. In addition, the bathroom is also being adapted to regional and cultural usage patterns – from Japanese bathing ceremonies to Islamic or Jewish religious washing rituals.

However, the bathroom of the future is also a health cell, which, with the help of person recognition and diagnostic tools, optimally supports well-being and health. In the process, the bathroom of the future is, of course, a zero-emissions bathroom, designed to preserve resources and geared to sustainability from planning and construction through to operation and dismantling. What about design? When it comes to design, the bathroom of the future is oriented towards nature. Cool stone walls with wooden design elements and floors reminiscent of moss or rock characterise this style. Alternatively, virtual reality is used to create deceptively real-looking plants and forest scenery in the bathroom.

More detailed information, interesting and surprising facts and figures about the hotel market and the hotel bathroom with expert statements and a selection of trendsetting and unusual hotel projects are provided in the “Hotel of the future – Or is the future already here?” e-book which can be downloaded.