People...people who need people are the luckiest people in the world
Are they?
Barbara Streisland's song "People who need people are the luckiest people in the world”, written by Bob Merrill, reflects a sentiment about the importance of human connection and relationships. Merrill, who passed away in 1998, if alive today, may well ponder re-writing the lyrics of that song - seeing what’s happening in our futuristic new world.
Alvin Toffler, an American writer, regarded as one of the world's outstanding futurists, in his book "The Third Wave," published in 1980, prophesized a world of customization over standardization, of networks over hierarchies, and of knowledge as the new currency.
Steve Case, inspired by Alvin Toffler, wrote a book with the same title in 2016, where he describes 3 types of societies, based on the concept of 'waves': The 1st wave was termed the Information Age known as the Internet. The 2nd is creating and developing all the technology that resides on the Internet that our society uses to connect and improve lifestyles - such as apps, social networks, smart phones, tablets, etc. and the 3rd wave making a great impact on several manufacturing and services industries - by applying AI (artificial intelligence).
When we see hotels employing robots to greet and check-in guests, make beds, clean bathrooms, corridors and public spaces, deliver in-room food and beverage or be a 24-hour lifeguard at the hotel’s pool, inimitably, Toffler’s 3rd wave is like a tsunami rushing relentlessly forward and bringing with it artificial intelligence, automation, and the digital ecosystems – exactly as he predicted.
In the 1980s, IBM estimated that knowledge was doubling every 12-13 months, and as of 2025, estimates suggest that human knowledge is doubling approximately every 12-24 hours. To think that until 1900, human knowledge doubled approximately every one hundred years, which, by the end of World War II (1945), it doubled every 25 years, one can only marvel at the phenomenal acceleration of discovery, distribution and implementation of innovation worldwide. Already, hotel guests demand seamless high-speed connectivity and ample charging options to support their digital lifestyles.
Hotels are no longer just a place to sleep, enjoy a meal, take a swim in the pool or to attend a meeting: it’s a place implanted with an all-encompassing intelligent environment that could enable walls to sense a guest’s mood, lighting that would adapt to circadian rhythms, and rooms that would reconfigure themselves based on the guest’s purpose –be it work, wellness, or play.
In the words of a futurist, “hotels can no longer think of a guest as just a person who can be gladdened with a fruit basket. Given that the guest’s nutrition and sleep cycles are optimized by his/her wearable and widely shared data, hotels need to provide the ultimate customization possible.
We still find it hard to accept walking into a shiny glass-paneled lobby where there is no human staff—only humanoid robots greeting us with perfect manners. or AI concierges customizing our stay based on our mood and preferences. We cannot really comprehend how our hotel room adjusts lighting, temperature, and even scent based on our biometric data. And we find it mystifying to think of a robotic butler delivering our room service or AI interpreting our dreams to recommend activities for the next day.
To many, this scenario can seem bizarre, having grown accustomed for centuries of human interaction in hospitality – vis-a-vis smiles at the front desk, pleasant chit chats with the concierge, and the personal touch that makes a stay memorable. The idea that algorithms could replace that warmth feels distant and even a tad troubling. Yet, with rapid advances in robotics, machine learning, and smart environments, this future it seems is rapidly advancing towards us. What appears unreal today could be the standard tomorrow, altering how we define comfort, connection and hospitality.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Motivational Speaker, Mystery Guest Auditor, Ex-Hotelier
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