Here is Crowne Plaza's patented 'hotel room of the future'

By Brandon Loo, August 31 2018
Here is Crowne Plaza's patented 'hotel room of the future'

In your head, picture your ideal, modern, ‘new breed of hotel room’. Perhaps it’s futuristic, filled with glossy tech and styled with glass, metal and floor-to-ceiling windows.

Now look at the featured image above. It might not seem like ‘the hotel room of the future’, but InterContinental Hotels Group is so confident in this new WorkLife room that it has successfully patented the layout and features for the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Resorts brand as part of a US$200 million investment by IHG to transform the Crowne Plaza brand over the coming years.

The differences and improvements are subtle, but the modern and purposeful design will put guests in full control of their stay.

Work hard, rest hard

The room features a flexible environment and distinct zones for guests to relax, work and recharge. The ‘welcome station’ is ready for bags, keys and coat when you arrive.

A desk area provides uncluttered space to focus. Rounding that off is a multi-purpose sofa nook equally suited to working, or kicking back with room service and relaxing.

Another small but considered aspect of the room’s design: the bed’s ‘cocooning headboard’ is pulled away from the wall and angles the bed towards the centre of the room where the TV is located, while also providing easier access to both sides of the bed.

The rest of the room’s furniture is similarly angled towards the TV, providing good viewing angles from all around.

The sleep experience is also integral to the WorkLife room. Guests can expect an exceptional mattress, luxurious bedding that is just the right weight, and soft or firm pillows with a selection of densities.

Technology-driven

A bugbear of many business travellers staying at hotels is the lack of charging ports, or bad placement of outlets. Some might involve moving furniture to uncover them, others might be so close to the floor or each other that larger adaptors can’t even fit in.

Naturally, the WorkLife room aims to eliminate all these problems, with charging stations – comprised of dual AC and USB power outlets – supporting up to 14 devices per room.

Crowne Plaza promises that guests will never be more than an arm's length away from a charging station, and never have to move furniture to reach outlets.

After quietly making its debut in 2017 at a handful locations throughout the USA, more than 3,000 WorkLife rooms are expected to be installed by early 2019.

Brandon Loo

Based in Perth, Brandon enjoys tucking into local delicacies, discovering new cocktails, and making aeroplane food look good on camera.

Delta Air Lines - SkyMiles

16 Oct 2017

Total posts 159

I'm not sure the housekeepers will be too pleased with that centre sofa and table - looks to be more difficult for making beds.

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

25 Mar 2014

Total posts 219

Noise reduction between rooms the Melb CP is woeful for this

Paper thin walls

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

09 Jun 2017

Total posts 77

If this is a business traveller's room. What is it with the 2 beds?

Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards

14 Mar 2017

Total posts 152

The TV is on an angle from literally every location, which is daft, but at least I can charge my 14 devices at the same time.

This is a joke right?

15 Aug 2018

Total posts 8

Haha, let's see if they will put a curved 4K TV in their rooms.

sgb
sgb

Emirates Airlines - Skywards

30 Nov 2015

Total posts 729

Paper thin walls in a hotel are just not on.

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

28 Aug 2014

Total posts 213

"We angled the bed to face the TV! And some other minor tweaks!"

Groundbreaking.

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

11 Oct 2014

Total posts 688

Gotta ask: What happens with rooms with 2 double/queen sized beds?

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

11 Oct 2014

Total posts 688

Should have added:

Pics 1 (angled) and pic 3 (not angled) defy the layout graphic plan shown.

One thing can be said for this “hotel room of the future” - it is absolutely consistent with the Crowne Plaza brand - mediocre, uncreative, bland, generic and poorly designed. Crowne Plaza is the Sears Roebuck of hotel brands sandwiched between more appealing and stylish brands above, and economy better value brands below.


While the identity-less Crowne Plaza brand does provide a flow of incremental franchise fees to IHG, the Crowne Plazas that offer a compelling product or value proposition to the customr are few and far between.

This “hotel room of the future” offers nothing futuristic or innovative or thoughtful. I suppose it offers a slight upgrade over the generic 1980’s style of most Crowne Plaza rooms, but not by much.


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