The metaverse, where does hospitality fit in a world of digital & physical reality?

What is the metaverse?

While most people heard the term “metaverse” in October of 2021 when Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook was changing their name to “Meta” the term actually dates back to June of 1992 and a Sci-Fi novel by the name Snow Crash written by Neal Stephenson. The metaverse as we know it now is not one specific thing or place, it is the intersection of virtual reality, and augmented reality, based in the digital world, aka the internet.

Where does the hospitality industry fit in the metaverse?

The most basic definition of hospitality is to make others feel welcome, can that be done in the metaverse? Absolutely! However, one of the differentiators in the hospitality industry is that we are in the business of creating unique, and memorable experiences for our guests and patrons. While sights and sounds are relatively easy to recreate in a digital space, tastes, smells, personal interactions, and the feeling of a sense of place in the physical world are near impossible to reproduce with ones and zeros. So, if the metaverse cannot replace actual travel, what roles can or will it play in our industry?

Sales

One of the easiest connections to make is 3D virtual tours of hotel rooms, event spaces, and amenities. While this already exists to some degree with Google’s Street View and its’ capability to bring you into a building and move through the areas that have been scanned, you’re still interacting with the space through a screen. A more immersive experience can give you a better feel for the size and scale of a ballroom for a social event. The ability to virtually walk into different room types and layouts can help guests get a feel for their accommodations before they arrive on property and mitigate situations of mismatched expectations. Furthermore, having a presence in the metaverse may become as important for brands as having a social media presence is today.

Training

I can see the metaverse environment becoming a very useful training tool. Roleplaying scenarios can make some feel uncomfortable or awkward when the participants are their fellow employees. The metaverse can allow for greater anonymity between participants and more genuine and realistic situations. Practicing for guest interactions both positive and negative can help to prepare employees for those less-than-fun conversations with guests.

Development

Renovations and the associated model rooms can be costly and time-consuming endeavors. No matter how experienced the contractor, detailed the architect, and talented the interior designer is, every property has its’ quirks. Sometimes these quirks do not become apparent until after the model room is complete and upon the first walkthrough, the closet door and the bathroom door cannot be opened at the same time. Or the bed was relocated and now it is near impossible to make the bed or get a vacuum between the bed and the wall. Being able to create a three-dimensional model of a room that can be interacted with as a guest or employee would help to cut down on some of those “whoops, didn’t think of that” moments.

As technology and the way, we as humans interact with technology changes and evolves, so must, and will the hospitality industry change and adapt how it interacts with guests. We are in the very early stages of the blurring of lines between the physical and digital worlds and I am certain there is more to come and even more we do not know. If the essence of the hospitality industry really is making others feel comfortable and creating unique experiences that engage all of our senses and wonder; I, maybe naïvely, find it hard to believe that can ever be replaced in a solely digital world. ​​​​​​​