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The Rooms Of The Future Are Here

November 16, 2005 at 4:12 PM | 0 Comments

Stupid rooms make you fiddle with the thermostat, and dim the lights. In a stupid room, you might even find The Clapper. Today, many hotels are turning to "Smart Rooms" that program guest preferences for a more personalized stay, and the Mandarin Oriental New York is one such hotel .

The hotel looks at some of the digital trails [a guest] leaves, like the programs he watches and the music he listens to. When he checks in, the concierge calls up his profile on a computer and adjusts the networked devices in his room to fit his profile.

Guests may also be asked to complete a questionnaire upon check-in, and housekeeping and bellboys will also make notes of the guest's preferences. Hmm. This could get a tad creepy, but we are sure "smart" hotels will give guest their space and make this whole process an opt-in type of thing.

While the technology in hotel rooms escalates to Jetson's standards, residential "smart systems" are still pretty pricey.

Related Stories:
·   `Smart' Hotel Rooms [International Herald Tribune]
·   Mandariin Oriental Hotel Reviews [TripAdvisor]