eXperimental Guestroom (X-Room)- Hotel Room of
the Future is here at the University of Delaware
Although it sounds like something from the future,
present day travelers who love the latest gizmos and gadgets might
want to check into the Courtyard Newark-University of Delaware and
check out the many innovative features in the hotel's new
experimental guest room.
Launched in September as part of Shaner Hotels'
Experimental Guestroom of the Future project, the X-Room is both fun
and functional thanks to amenities such as a guestroom digital
assistant (GDA) that sports a color display touch-screen. The device
allows guests to control climate, lighting, alarm clock and digital
radio, and also comes with two-line speakerphone capability.
This room is inspired by Hospitality Financial and
Technology Professional's (HFTP)
Guestroom 2010 which is a prototype hotel
of the future. However, the difference between Guestroom 2010 and
X-Room is that X-Room is used by guests and staff members. The
guests who stay in X-Room are asked to complete a survey upon
check-out. The data obtained from X-Room is shared with vendors and
industry professionals. X-Room is managed by Dr. Cihan Cobanoglu,
associate professor of hospitality information technology. Students
at the University of Delaware's Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional
Management Department are directly involved with X-Room. For a short
video of the X-Room, please click
here.
Here are some examples of the items that are
featured in the X-room:
- Dual door mini bar system
- Nintendo Wii Gaming System
- Microsoft Media Center
- Digital door viewer
- Fast universal charger
- Moving alarm clock
- Digital frame
- Remote-controlled luminary pillars
- Guestroom digital assistant
- Video game console
- Alert messaging system
- Environmentally friendly hair dryer
- Environmentally friendly showerhead
More information about current technologies in the X-Room can be found here:
X-Room in the Press
If you are interested in X-Room or have any
questions or comments, please contact Dr. Cihan Cobanoglu at
cihan@udel.edu
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