http://www.europeanbusinessreview.com 63delays or cancellations) and travel to and
from the airport, these new mobile hotel
rooms can be operated as a door-to-door
rentalcarandhotelroominone,providing
XQOLPLWHGÁH[LELOLW\ DQG PRELOLW\)RU EXVL-
ness travel within a 4- to 10-hour driving
distance,ortravelsrequiringmultiplestops,
theautonomousmobilehotelroomswillbe
a muchmoreconvenientoptionwithlower
costandbetterconnectivity.Therefore,the
airline industry should provide answers to
thefollowingfundamentalquestions:“WhyZRXOGSDVVHQJHUVFRQWLQXHWRÁ\JLYHQWKH
ORZHIÀFLHQF\LQWHUPVRIWLPHDQGEXGJHW"μ
and “Will self-driving technology disrupt
the entire business of domestic airlines?”- Hospitality
Conventional hotel operators will face
competitive challenges from autonomous
hotel rooms equipped with a transportation
function. Unlike the past, when accessibility
to mass transportation or city centres was
important, hotels in highly congested areas
will lose their attractiveness.
At the same time, the hospitality industry
can identify opportunities because it can
expand its traditional scope of hospitality to
include transportation and mobility. Large
hotel chains can redesign some of their
spaces to become “stations” for customers
travelling with autonomous vehicle while
they are in transit. Hotels in static locations
can provide parent units into which mobile
hotel units can dock, to form an inte-
grated unit, for better comfort and access
to upscale hotel facilities. These stations
would give travellers access to food and
beverages, a spa, a pool, a gym and meeting
rooms, along with housekeeping services
and maintenance of the mobile hotel units,
just like any conventional hotel could offer.
The boundaries of hospitality will become
less clear as Transpitality becomes a new
form of business.
AbouttheAuthors
Steve Lee is the Founder and Design
Principal at Aprilli Design Studio, a
Toronto-based design consulting
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UCLA and California Polytechnic State
University and has received his master’s degree
from YaleSchoolofArchitecture.
Won-Yong Oh is Lee Professor of
Strategy at the Lee Business School,
University of Nevada, Las Vegas in
theUSA.
Irene Yi is an Assistant Professor of
Finance at the Rotman School of
Management, University of Toronto.The hospitality industry can identify
opportunities because it can expand its
traditional scope of hospitality to include
transportation and mobility.
Photo Above: Autonomous
Travel Suite Drones
Photo Below: Autonomous
Travel Suite Podium