http://www.europeanbusinessreview.com 61The Future of TransportationTranspitality:
How Autonomous Driving
Technology Will Reshape
the Industry Landscape
BY STEVE LEE, WON YONG-OH AND IRENE YI
There has been increasing attention to self-
driving cars, but business is still missing
some key insights into how it will disrupt
the industry landscape. This article shows
how autonomous driving technology will
disrupt several related industries, and
proposes that “transpitality” (transporta-
tion + hospitality) will emerge as one of
the new forms of business.
What Could Future Travel Look Like?
The following is a scenario of what future travel
could look like.
Jennifer, who lives in Las Vegas with her husband
and daughter, is planning a business trip to San Francisco
the next morning. She decides to use Autonomous
Mobile Hotel, a specialised travel vehicle operated by
the Autonomous Hotel Group. Using an app on her
smartphone, she types in her itinerary and selects a
single-occupancy mobile room. Expecting that she’ll want
a little down time before and after her meeting, she also
reserves a 4-hour docking station at the Autonomous
Hotel San Francisco.
After having dinner with her family, Jennifer loads
her luggage into the Autonomous Mobile Hotel, which
has arrived on schedule and is waiting in front of her
house. While the Autonomous Mobile Hotel drives her
to San Francisco, Jennifer makes use of the time to work
on her presentation, then relaxes and gets some sleep,
just as she would do at home. A screen live-projecting
her husband reading bedtime stories to their daughter
makes her feel perfectly connected to home. Once the
Autonomous Mobile Hotel arrives at the Autonomous
Hotel in San Francisco, it automatically docks into a
docking station forming a larger integrated unit. With
access to all of the Autonomous Hotel amenities, Jennifer
feels secure and relaxed.
The next morning, the Autonomous Mobile Hotel
drives Jennifer to her business meeting, giving her a bit
more time to polish her presentation. After dropping her
off at the meeting location, the Autonomous Mobile Hotel
returns to the Autonomous Hotel for housekeeping, and
stands by for Jennifer’s call. Later that afternoon, when
Jennifer’s meeting is over, the Autonomous Mobile Hotel
picks her up and starts the drive back to Las Vegas.
With her presentation successfully behind her, Jennifer
stretches out and relaxes, enjoying the scenic views and
taking in a couple of movies.Transpitality: A New Form of Business
The emergence of autonomous driving tech-
nology marks the arrival of a new era. There are
two advantages of self-driving vehicles. First,
they can self-drive for extremely long hours
and distances without getting tired or being
hampered by poor night vision. Second, they
can make multiple door-to-door trips without
KDYLQJ ¶ÀUVW PLOHODVW PLOH· SUREOHPV 7KHVHTranspitality, a
word integrating
transportation and
hospitality, will
become a new type
of business utilising
autonomous vehicles
in the future.