Novotel and Microsoft invent the hotel room of the future

November 21, 2011 | Hotel Marketing

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Accor Hotels is testing a new guestroom prototype for its network of Novotel hotels around the world, based on the latest technology innovations. The model room, called Room 3120, will be available for reservations at the Novotel Vaugirard Montparnasse through February.

Last September, Denis Hennequin announced Accor’s new strategic objective to become the global benchmark in hotels and revolutionize the customer experience. In line with this commitment to innovation, Novotel is offering a new type of room that makes a clean break with traditional hotel thinking by redefining the use of space and adding cutting edge technologies and amenities.

“We wanted to reinvent the hotel room experience by harmoniously melding design and new digital technologies,” explains Grégoire Champetier Global Chief Marketing Officer. “It’s crucial to take our customers’ changing habits and expectations into account. In particular, this means re-thinking our rooms in digital terms.»

Guests can try out this revolutionary, yet perfectly realistic experience in the pilot room for the next three months. All of the equipment is fully functional and could be deployed throughout the Novotel network in the near future.

Microsoft was at the center of the room’s design, notably with the integration of the Xbox 360 console and its revolutionary Kinect sensor, which uses body gesture and voice recognition to control games and entertainment. This partnership between Novotel and Microsoft is the logical next step in a relationship that began four years ago when Novotel started offering Xbox 360 consoles in the public areas of its hotels.

“In the era of technological convergence, Microsoft is as always front and center,” says Eric Boustouller, CEO of Microsoft France. “In our partnership with Novotel, we are taking this innovative room concept to a higher level with our best tech- nologies. This new-generation room is an invitation to discover the latest advances in consumer technologies in a creative universe with a unique design.»

Discover the unique ambiance of Room 3120 as you walk into the entrance, designed to serve as a decompression chamber between the outside world and a spacious sensorial environment filled with ingenious practical features and interactive technology that surrounds you without being overwhelming.

“We wanted to do something fresh, surprising and imaginative that would unleash people’s energy,” explains Marcelo Joulia, head of Naço, the architecture firm chosen by Novotel to design Room 3120. “We started by re-thinking the basic space, which meant leaving the stuffy old cube behind. We also worked with light and found ways to keep the furniture from being in the way. Multifunctional, flexible and unhindered, Room 3120 adapts to the guest’s desires, not vice-versa.»

Although the innovative nature of the experiences available in Room 3120 may be surprising, they are extremely intuitive and ergonomic. The features are also designed for families, so they can play, surf or be entertained simply and easily.

It will only take you a few seconds to get used to the Kinect interface and take command of the Xbox 360 console. You can also try out the brand new Sensorit mirror, also based on Kinect technology, where information tags seem to appear by magic, or turn on the fitness interface. Want to play with the kids? The Surface multimedia table offers numerous pos- sibilities for two more players.

There’s plenty for the grown-ups too, with fingertip access to a wide range of multimedia content, as well as music and news. Radio station NOVA (Le Grand Mix) and BFM Business, France’s leading business and financial news media, have chosen to partner the Room 3120 project, which makes a point of providing rapid access to world news.

Experience the future at MSN