What scholars predicted decades ago about the hotel of the future

In response to a survey conducted in the later part of the 20^th century, by the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca New York, over 700 alumni responded to the survey “ Travel & Hospitality predictions for Cornell’s 100^th Anniversary: Changes We’ll See By The Year 2022’.

Some of those predictions made many years ago were on:-

• Jobs: About 93% of the respondents said the hotel operator will disappear in the next 25 years; 78% believed the front desk job will vanish; 61% thought the concierge will be gone and General Managers and waiters would appear to have the most job security, with 94% and 88%, respectively confident that these positions will stand the test of time.
• Technology: 92% believed room keys will be obsolete, while 83% predicted personal computers will be standard room equipment in 2022.
• Amenities: 74% said newspapers are out; as did 42% on business centres, with 37% mentioning room phones as a thing of the past. The majority though sided with restaurants (80%), toiletries (72%), to likely remain.
• Business Travel: Videoconferencing will replace small face-to-face meetings said 52%, but 85% had faith in large meetings and conventions been not replaced.

So, what’s changed since then?

• Jobs: As we pass through 2022, the hotel telephone operator though an endangered lot, can still be found in several hotels. Nevertheless, their ranks are thinning as hotels switch to automated phone service. In many hotels today, that wood and marble front desk that served as a barrier is no longer there. Its existence was as if the staff was afraid of the customer. The human presence at the reception is thankfully still around.
• Technology: In an ever increasingly impatient society that hates to stand in queues, the guest can now walk into the lobby and head straight to his/her room. The room number will be sent via text, as will a barcode that unlocks the door. One’s cell phone can be used for easy, keyless entry – signaling the end of the room key / card era soon. The prediction that personal computers will be standard room equipment has not come to pass though!
• Amenities: Hotels continued to offer newspapers as a courtesy, although some began to stop delivery to the rooms unless guests asked for them, other hotels continue to provide every guest with a free morning newspaper, whether they asked for it or not – COVID-19. At one time the traditional business center was a necessity for road warrior. However, today's advanced business travel gadgets, apps and mobile boarding passes allow business travelers to be their own mobile offices. In fact, most hotels have gotten rid of business centers all together, swapping them out for free Wi-Fi and  By the same token, why then provide personal computers in the guest rooms? As for the room telephone, the most common uses for in-room phone are request calls to housekeeping, ordering room service or getting information from the front desk on nearby places to visit or eat, including asking “what’s the Wi-Fi password?” or verifying the checkout time. More importantly, that landline is going to be in the room because hotels need it for security, if not for anything else!
• Predictions on videoconferencing look to be on course – despite COVID-19 ramifications. The desire for physical presence at large meetings and conventions has never been so intense.

In 1950, the job of elevator operator was among the 270 careers listed on the United States Census. That job title is now extinct, representing the only known instance of an entire occupation being obliterated by automation in the 50 years that followed. The next half-century was even less forgiving. What then lies ahead?

Only time and automation will tell.

Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier

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