The Design of Travel and Hospitality in the Year 2039

What will the travel and hospitality space look like 20 years from now? Will we check ourselves into our hotel rooms on iPads? Use our own fingerprints in lieu of room keys? Receive room service delivered by robots? (Believe it or not, these things are all happening now.) Twenty years ago, it would have been difficult to imagine that a large swath of the earth's population would walk around with what are essentially tiny computers capable of making phone calls, sending emails, taking photos, mapping out directions, and much more in their pockets. As technology has evolved, so has the travel industry. We may have more choices than ever before, but that only means architects, designers, and others working in hospitality must focus on how they can use design to set themselves and their products apart.

To gain some insight into what travel might look like in 20 years, we asked CEOs of hotel groups, tour operators, and the CEO of one of the world's most extensive network of travel advisors what they imagine for the future. Three key themes came up again and again: the need for human connection, the value of intangible experiences, and an increasing emphasis on sustainable design.

COMMUNITY AND HUMAN CONNECTION

Almost everyone we asked agreed that technology will never replace human connection; on the contrary, it will create a stronger need for people to connect in the real world. "As technology become mores ubiquitous and sophisticated it is also driving a craving for empathy and belonging, driven by true connection," Matthew Upchurch, CEO of Virtuoso—a global network of luxury travel agencies and preferred partners—tells AD. "This is where human touch and technology will come together; the digital tools to help create a more, fun collaborative experience," he says. "With Virtuoso Orchestrator, clients will cocreate a Netflix-style personal portfolio that builds anticipation and excitement for each new trip."

Katherine Lo, founder and president of the new hospitality brand Eaton Workshop—which has activism and community-building in its DNA—agrees. She believes travelers are looking for a sense of belonging. "The hospitality design of yesteryear prized material luxury over everything else. Today's hospitality design has moved away from the material towards seeking the experiential (although aesthetics still do, and will always, matter)," Lo says. She predicts: "Tomorrow's hospitality design may be a reaction to the physical disconnectedness of virtual friendships and tech proliferation. The beauty of hospitality is that despite tech trends, hospitality will always mean welcoming real people to physical spaces."