The Guest Room of the Future?
IHG recently was approved for a Patent for its new Guest Room design. Each room layout maximizes the guest's view of the television, from either the bed or another soft seating area. Guests are encouraged to work, relax, recharge, and socialize in distinct areas of the WorkLife room. The design is overall meant to blur the lines between the business and leisure traveler. See Fig. 2 below the Floor Plan of the King Room.
According to Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG)'s website, the Guest Room includes:
✓ An Angled bed, which opens up more space for the room’s distinct zones. The cocooning headboard, Beautyrest mattress, plush linens and Sleep Advantage® aromatherapy kit help guests rest.
✓ A Sofa nook, a multi-purpose space for reading, watching TV, working, meeting with colleagues or kicking back with room service.
✓ A Desk area, an uncluttered work-space where guests can focus.
✓ A Welcome station, which gets guests settled with space for keys, bags, and coats.
✓ A Bathroom, with a modern and bright design to help guests feel re-energized by their routines.
With much testing. and refinement, IHG has set forth the WorkLife Room, which is a unique space with continuous Wi-Fi access, and fourteen outlets for guests to plug-in their multiple devices; this design boasts a technology awareness that is important in today's "plugged-in" society. Even the large televisions in this "room of the future" can be used to have work presentations.
Interested in visiting a WorkLife location? By early 2019 IHG estimates that 3,000 Rooms will be in operation including the Flagship property in Atlanta (Midtown), GA. There are also locations in Arlington (Ballpark-Stadium), TX, Cleveland (Playhouse Square), OH, and San Jose, CA (not renovated yet). Overall, this new design is accelerating the movement of design toward clean lines, and more of a built-in furniture style to the room. Is the design that was created worth getting a patent, or has this concept been done before? Should this be considered the "Room of the Future"?
