It’s not enough to be connected anymore, now we’ve got to be ‘hyper-connected’ – to exist 24/7, to communicate super-fast, to be super mobile. Not only is it bringing us closer –we have Facebook to thank for helping us do this – it’s spawning one of the biggest revolutions in information technology. With almost 70 per cent of the world’s workforce using mobile and wireless computing, and by this time next year there will be 1.4 billion user devices – there are now twice as many mobile phones as toothbrushes in the world. Hyper-connectivity is already at an inflection point, and the challenges it is creating for business are huge. At this year’s World Economic Forum it was suggested that hyper-connectivity will change every business model and supply chain.

I think hyper-connectivity could fundamentally reframe the nature of the guest stay, redefine the hotel room, as well as enhance the guest experience. At its heart is a need to be always switched ‘on’ – to live in the personal, inter-connected, interactive, and globally accessible world of now. It could mean the guest experience becomes less about the hotel and more about ‘my’ experience. This will mean the most important factor of the guest experience becomes a seamless user experience as well as the provision of new technologies. It could also mean that the room is no longer the hotel’s room but my world: an extension of ‘my’ home, ‘my’ business, ‘my’ personal life and ‘my’ social life. The role of the Guest TV could be less focused around hotel defined content, but increasingly around ‘my’ content or apps – and becomes less of a hotel branding device and more an extension of ‘my’ digital personality.  We already live in a world where the in-room TV is considered as another ‘device’, as guests digitally multi-task with ‘my’ PC and ‘my’ smart phone. And most profoundly, it could mean that the guest’s relationship with the hotel can endure long after their stay.

Quadriga is wrestling with the challenges of hyper-connectivity right now, and creating some really interesting solutions for the hospitality industry. But we’re not arrogant enough to believe we have all the answers. And we’re definitely open to very different thoughts and fresh points of view. Challenge us, provoke some new perspectives, and refocus the debate – so let’s get some discussion going.