Beyond the Bed: Rethinking Guestrooms for the Year 2075
By Justin Taillon
HITEC is the largest hospitality technology show in the world. I began attending the show when I was an undergraduate student majoring in hospitality. The size and scope of the HITEC show, with more than 6,000 annual attendees, was impressive. Perhaps my favorite piece of the show was Guestroom 20x.
Guestroom 20x was a mock hotel room on the event’s showroom floor. The purpose of the room was to showcase modern guestroom technologies. Attendees were able to experience a myriad of technologies that were forecasted by elite industry professionals to exist in guestrooms of the future. I was a student-worker selected to work in this mock room. My student-worker responsibilities included demonstrating technology for attendees. My demonstration included an in-room voice assistant, video camera doorbell, smart room controls, mobile app integration for check-in and room key access, advanced in-room amenities, WiFi best practices, the cloud, air purification, and even how charging ports were likely to exist for a multitude of traveler electronics. These and many other in-room technologies exist today.
I continue to think about the future of hotel technology today as Global President of HFTP, a tenured faculty member, and a department head. I think about technology differently than I did as an undergraduate student though. I now understand the future of in-room technology to be a pressing strategic discussion rather than just neat technology as I did when I was first introduced to Guestroom 20x. This understanding was recently amplified.
I conducted focus groups at HITEC 2025. The topic was “The Guestroom of 2075.” Participants included CIOs, CFOs, and Vice Presidents from some of the world’s largest lodging companies. I also included educators who focus their research on the field of hospitality, hotel general managers, and advisors from the most well-known hospitality consulting organizations. In total, 31 lodging professionals took part in my focus groups.
Predictions varied widely. Yet, four transformative ideas emerged: intelligent and adaptive bedrooms, design and architecture, labor and service, and the guestroom as a cultural and behavioral space. These themes form a collective framework for how the guestroom of the future will become a tech savvy yet human-centered environment. This environment will likely blend Customer Relationship Management (CRM) with personalized wellness and authentic societal and cultural landscapes.
Themes of Guestroom 2075
There seems to be near unanimous agreement that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) are the most important emergent technologies in the lodging industry right now. Furthermore, nearly every single focus group participant focused on AI as the dominant feature of future guestrooms. Given that, I thought it would be appropriate to task the most popular AI tool with assisting me in the completion of this article. I asked an AI to summarize what the focus groups said within the four themes I identified.
1. Intelligent and Adaptive Bedrooms
Chat GPT (2025) summarized the focus group results, “By 2075, the hotel room will have evolved into a responsive, multifunctional ecosystem. The concept of the “intelligent room” will be defined by deep integration of artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, and adaptive architecture. These rooms will not simply be “smart” in today’s sense—turning on lights or adjusting temperature via voice command—but will operate as perceptive partners in the guest experience.”
The future of guestrooms is intelligent rooms. These can be understood as rooms with advanced technology, including data analytics, built into their existence. For example, artificial intelligence may leverage CRM and predictive analytics to adapt the design of the room itself to meet the guest’s mood. Furthermore, such rooms learn guest preferences through a mix of stated preferences and previous in-room behaviors. Combined, intelligent rooms will be a seamless mix of technologies that adopt the preferences of each guest who stays in the room.
If Guestroom 20x still existed, in-room intelligence would likely still not be a part of the room. Smart rooms are prevalent in 2025, but intelligent rooms do not exist yet. The difference is that smart rooms respond to commands while intelligent rooms are predictive, creating an environment unique to the guest without the guest even requesting it. Intelligent rooms are on the horizon though!
Hilton’s “Connected Room” does remember some preferences (e.g., favorite TV channels, room temperature). Samsung partnered with Marriott to create a tech savvy Internet of Things (IoT) Guestroom Lab. This room, which debuted in 2017 to much fanfare, showcases what is possible. Yet, eight years later the room remains a prototype. Marriott’s IoT may be only a prototype, but rooms that feature circadian rhythms lighting, adaptive architecture, and voice activation and sensors are in Marriott’s plans for the future of the guestroom. Other lodging companies are also moving forward in intriguing ways. Yotel is building smarter rooms through robotics, Henn-na Hotel is focused on sustainability choices for guests, and CitizenM is leveraging touchscreens that adapt guestrooms to meet one’s mood, bed position preference, temperature, and more.
2. Design and Architecture
Chat GPT (2025) summarized Design and Architecture, the first of four themes identified from the focus groups, by writing, “By 2075, hotel guestrooms will seamlessly merge advanced technology with design focused on beauty, sustainability, and sensory well-being. Biophilic design will be standard, with features like living walls, air-purifying plants, and dynamic daylight systems serving both aesthetic and health purposes, while locally sourced, fully sustainable materials are transparently tracked for carbon impact.
Room layouts will diversify to include suites, pods, and hybrid live-work units, with programmable surfaces offering digital art, immersive storytelling, and visuals tied to local heritage. Sleep optimization will be a core differentiator, with adaptive, AI-regulated sleep environments replacing static beds. Amenities will also transform, as minibars become personalized nutrition and hydration hubs and autonomous systems deliver locally sourced, seasonal room service with privacy and efficiency.”
Biophilic room design can be understood as a guestroom mirroring an outdoor environment. Biophilic room design is no limited to plants, though. Biophilia is associated with one’s senses, including their social construction of natural design. Furthermore, the term sense of place is applicable in this context. Sense of place refers to an individual’s social construction including one’s memories, experiences, and emotions.
For example, I previously worked for Starwood when they held the Westin brand. Westin’s White Tea is Westin’s fragrance used universally in properties; many guests, including me, experience a sense of place in association with Westin’s white tea fragrance. Yes, I like the smell. Westin’s White Tea fragrance it is not merely a smell to me. I remember my work summer working outdoors in the Texas Hill Country at a Westin. This can be referred to as biophilic room design since the memories and emotions take me to places that are outdoors. Biophilic room design is more commonly thought of as appealing to more than one sense.
Biophilic room design has been studied rather extensively. There is consistent evidence that such room design positively impacts health and wellness. For example, there are dozens of studies that show students perform better on exams when they study with a view of outdoor green spaces than their peers who study without being able to see the outdoors.
Furthermore, humans in general experience better memory, enhanced cognition, a more positive mood, stress reduction, and a higher IQ when they spend time outdoors or at a minimum at a window with a view of large green spaces. Hoteliers are attempting to bring this to room design that appeals to all of your senses. This also works in alignment with the sustainability of the property. A property such as 1 Hotel Central Park in New York City constitutes a good example of nature being brought into the architecture of the room. The hotel has live plants, reclaimed materials, and filtered air throughout the property.
Sustainability, health, and wellness are focuses of Millennials and Generation Z. Projections are strong that Generation Alpha (i.e., those born between 2010 and 2024) also makes purchasing decisions based on sustainability, health, and wellness. Biophilic room design is one of the most important facets of sustainability and wellness for hotel guests.
Sustainability is more than biophilic room design. Sustainability also means societal and cultural elements of the local community where the hotel is situated will also be built into the room design. Digital artwork that changes based on what the guest finds most appealing will be installed, similar to Samsung’s The Frame that is being sold globally right now. Authentic local culture, which will be unique to every single location, room, and guest, will follow. These can all change for each guest’s interests and interior design ideas.
Finally, guestrooms are used for sleeping. Little has changed since the inception of hotels when it comes to sleeping. There is general agreement that this is going to change by 2075. AI-driven sleep optimization with soundproofing and air purification will exist in guestrooms soon. For example, Zedwell Hotels in London are working with The Sleep School Collaboration to create a unique sleep-focused experience. From their Hypnos mattresses and cotton sheets to soundproof rooms with minimal distractions, Zedwell is a potential example for the future of hotel room design.
3. Labor and Service
Chat GPT summarized Labor and Service by writing, “By 2075, guestroom servicing will blend advanced automation with specialized human roles, fundamentally transforming labor models. Robots will manage repetitive and physically demanding tasks like linen changes, sanitation, and restocking, operating discreetly during vacant periods and supported by self-cleaning surfaces and modular furniture designed for rapid replacement. Human staff will focus on emotional and experiential service, acting as environment curators who personalize settings through cultural insight and service intuition beyond the scope of automation.
Training will integrate hospitality expertise with cultural competency, wellness coaching, and technology support. A feminist perspective will reshape housekeeping roles—prioritizing ergonomic safety, equitable pay, and professional recognition—elevating both working conditions and the perceived value of these positions in the guest experience.”
Nearly all individuals in the focus groups mentioned robots. They did not all agree on what constituted a robot though. For example, some individuals believe that nearly all housekeeping functions will be completed by robots by 2075 while others felt robots would be assistants to humans, allowing them to speed up operational processes at the property level. It is possible that by 2075 robots will handle sanitation, par levels, and most repetitive and demanding tasks such as changing linens on a bed. Yet, it is also possible that machines, albeit perhaps robotic but not necessarily robots, are limited to handling basic tasks such as cleaning oft-used surfaces or assisting housekeepers with bed-making and taking out the trash.
There was general agreement that humans would remain responsible for emotional and experiential service. Hospitality skills, cultural competency, and tech support would require humans. Yet, there was also a niche idea that today’s youth and tomorrow’s generations of travelers will not expect or crave human interaction in the way traditionalists or baby boomers do.
Some futurists in the focus groups believe human interaction may become more minimal than most people expect. They pointed to experiences such as staffless restaurants, which have become popular in some of the most tech savvy countries (e.g., Korea, Japan). Touch Café in Seoul, Korea, is a staffless restaurant I recently experienced. Touch Café has a lower staff cost. The café passes this along to customers. They undercut from a price perspective their market set by a large percent margin.
Finally, a few conversations with female focus group members turned to equity. Ergonomic design in front-line positions, professional recognition and career pathways in management, and equitable pay in all positions were mentioned. I found it interesting that women in the focus groups brought this up. Men agreed but never brought the topic up before a female did. Also of note, career pathways in tech have traditionally been male-dominant. There was agreement that this is problematic and a shift is needed.
4. The Guestroom as a Cultural and Behavioral Space
Chat GPT (2025) summarized this theme as, “By 2075, the hotel room will function as a cultural and psychological interface, blending hyperlocal design and storytelling with the guest’s personal identity. Spaces will adapt to local customs while offering configurable levels of immersion, such as regional textures, music, and art. Predictive AI will shape the environment to promote rest, focus, or creativity, with modular features for families and children. Ethical transparency will be central, using tools like blockchain to manage consent and safeguard personal data. Ultimately, guestrooms will become co-created storytelling environments, leaving lasting impressions through personalized cultural immersion, wellness, and comfort.”
What constitutes culture is unique to each person. similarly, the experience guests are seeking while at a hotel is also unique to each visitor. Thus, what it means for a guestroom to be a cultural or behavioral space is difficult to assess. Five primary ideas within this theme stood out:
First, hotels will be expected to design the guestroom inclusive of local culture. The local culture that each guest is seeking to experience on site will likely be different. An example discussed in one focus group was in the sports sector. The focus groups took place in Indianapolis, and the city was used for this example. One person visiting Indianapolis may be a race car fan while another guest may be there for the NBA Championship. These guests are likely similar in from a traditional market segment perspective. Yet, their room should look different based on culture and behavior.
Secondly, individuals traveling with pets are different behaviorally while on property. Research shows that the human/animal bond is growing stronger and more guests are seeking to travel with pets. Travelers consider pets to be family members more so than in the past. This is affecting travel behavior. My own research (Taillon, MacLaurin, & Yun, 2014) evidenced how hotels should update their guestrooms to align with shifting perspectives on pet travel.
Finally, data security is increasingly complex. Hotelier responsibilities for guest data including obtaining guest consent for data sharing will become increasingly more important as blockchain and cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin earn a mainstream audience, governments institute increasing regulations, and the cloud becomes ubiquitous.
Conclusion
Hotel guestrooms will become increasingly more complex by 2075. Hoteliers have a responsibility to adapt to meet the challenges that come with this complexity. The challenge is more than predicting these changes. The real changes will happen culturally and operationally within hotel organizations. Learning organizations will adapt, while organizations that are slow to change will likely be left behind.
Forward-thinking organizations are already laying the groundwork for success in 2075. Companies are experimenting with adaptive design, piloting wellness-driven amenities, investing in ethical data systems, and rethinking labor structures. 2075 should not be understood as a distant concept. Rather, it is already in development. Properties that embrace transformations will define the hospitality landscape of 2075.
Mr. Taillon
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