The hotel of tomorrow: A service design approach

Abstract

Reports from the UN World Tourism Organization, the World Travel and Tourism commission, the European Travel Commission, Amadeus and other similar organisations are all unanimous, the future of tourism and hospitality is prosperous. Tourism destinations and hotels have suffered paradigmatic shifts from Fordist to post-Fordist, and then to neo-fordist modes of production and consumption. The current century is bringing us new neo-fordist forms of hotel businesses, like mass-tailoring, and due to the industry’s steady growth, more and more companies are required to develop new perspectives in order to stay relevant, and to gain competitive advantage in the various fragmented markets. In an era of impermanency and fluidity, destinations and their businesses are forced to be dynamic and innovative. Considering the current and unforeseen developments in technology, in consumption, in management and operations, the hotel of tomorrow will not be incrementally, but radically different from today. In this context, this paper focuses on describing, interpreting and anticipating the changes the hotel industry is expected to face in the coming years. The study uses service design approach and various data collection instruments such as e-Delphi and Lego® Serious Play®, to depict how the hotel of the future will be. Involving current and future hospitality and tourism professionals, this study synthesizes three possible scenarios, thus portraying a foresight into the hotel of the future.