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One Night In the Hotel Room of the Future
Mickeycaskill writes: Hub by Premier Inn in London is pitching itself as the hotel room of the future, using technology to make staying in a city easier and simpler. Automated kiosks, digital temperature controls, augmented reality walls and even the ability to control things using an Apple Watch or smartphone are just some of the innovations used. A custom app is used to order room service, control the television and has a number of other features. TechWeekEurope spent a night in the hotel to see if technology could make a hotel stay any better.
Having just stayed in a very new looking Premier Inn in London last week I was not at all impressed. The check-in kiosk failed to provide any keys so we had to wait for the one guy with a laptop. The room had no phone but they did helpfully provide an external number for the reception which, for an international destination like London, meant that they expected guests to both to have a mobile with them and be willing to pay exorbitant roaming fees just to call reception. As for remote control by Apple watch they solved that in a way which is platform independent: the room was so small you could stand in the middle of it and touch all the controls without having to move. It was very clear that the aim of any "improvements" was to make things cheaper and not to improve guests' experience.