Hilton Will Be Rolling Out “Smart” Hotel Rooms Starting in 2018

It is the little things in life that can make me incredibly happy or excited.  When I say little, I simply mean things that can make my life easier.  It doesn’t have to be large.  But just something that means my day is going to be a little bit easier.  And Hilton is going to help me with that.  At least from a travel perspective.  Over the last year, I have done a lot of travel, which means I’ve stayed in a ton of hotels. Some were really good, but others could have used some improvements.

Hilton plans to roll out a full mobile-focused connected room in 2018. Have you ever gone into a hotel room only to feel a wave of heat or cold air?  The temperature is never right. This is an example of something that you can control from your smartphone, so when you arrive, the temperature is just right.  Hilton’s plan is that this will be deployed alongside the Hilton Honors app.  This is currently in beta testing, however, they are expected to start expanding to more properties over the coming weeks.  They plan a full rollout in 2018.

What can you control?  Temperature and lighting for sure.  But they are also saying that you will be able to stream content to your TV and control internet-connected picture frames.  Which means you can put your own personal images into these frames.  As far as the features go, the temperature and lighting are two that I would love to see.  The TV capabilities is a nice to have.  But the picture frame idea is super cute.  While not necessary, I like this added feature as it will make your room feel more like yours.  Currently, the only way to identify that it’s mine is to look at my clothes and shoes strewn across the room.

Another feature that Hilton is including with their Connected Room is what they’re calling “scenes”.  There isn’t a lot of details on what scenes are, so I imagine the ability to apply a scene to your room.  I’m thinking “under the sea” or some kind of “country and western” theme.  I’m likely off base with this, but that is the image that comes to mind when I hear scene.  Whatever the scene does look like, that’s not a bad idea.  If not functional, at least it’s cute.

As of right now, Hilton Honors members can use their app to check in to their room as well as check out.  Hilton describes the idea of a Connected Room as an extension of those efforts.  In addition, with so much of the hotel experience based in the app, Hilton says it will be able to update and add new features and capabilities whenever they want.

What kind of smart home platform will they be using?  The answer to that is unknown, but it sounds rather sophisticated, regardless.   I am impressed, Hilton.  Will this be coming to other non-Hilton properties in the future?  Also, is this something that would make you choose a Hilton property over another one?  I think the idea is incredible and I just might choose a Hilton to get this kind of room during my future travels.