Pervasive Connectivity: The Thriving Hotel of the Future

Howard Hecht, Industry Labs

Toronto, Ontario, CANADA hhecht@industrylabs.com

Mahemuti Mayier and Christine Perakslis Alan Shawn Feinstein Graduate School

Johnson & Wales University, Rhode Island, USA {mmayier;cperakslis}@jwu.edu

Abstract—The landscape of business and leisure travel has been forever changed by the convergence of such factors as dwindling natural resources, oversubscribed and blurred personal versus professional time commitments, and burgeoning expenses. The hotel industry has been seemingly slow to adjust key aspects of their core business model to take into account to these weighty forces. In the 21st century, these traditional business models of the hospitality industry are no longer simply disrupted by emerging technologies; but now, these disruptive forces carry with them the power to decimate. The purpose of this paper is to propose a new model for the industry to consider. Though not yet validated, the model is technologically rooted in pervasive connectivity and economically based on sustainable development and operational practices. There are two critical aspects of model: 1.) There is a confederated and distributed approach to technological and economic ownership of the service delivery platforms and 2.) Sustainability is a core driver as opposed to an afterthought (e.g. resulting “tax” benefits of initiatives). The authors propose that this synergistic approach may help to ensure the timely adoption of a broad range of pervasive connectivity services to embrace to achieve sustainable development practices for economic and operational advantages.

Keywords- sustainable travel, business travel, leisure travel, sharing economy, fluid space design, IoT, exo-building, biomemetics

I. INTRODUCTION The hotel industry has been seemingly slow to adjust

key aspects of their core business model to take into account such weighty forces as dwindling natural resources, oversubscribed and blurred personal versus professional time commitments, and burgeoning expenses of business and leisure travel. In the 21st century, the traditional business models of the hospitality industry are no longer simply disrupted by emerging technologies; but now, these disruptive forces carry the power to decimate the status quo or provide the impetus to craft sector solutions. The purpose of this paper is to propose a new model for the industry to consider. Though not yet validated, the model is technologically rooted in pervasive connectivity and economically based on sustainable development and operational practices. There are two critical aspects of model: 1.) There is a confederated and distributed approach to technological and economic ownership of the service delivery platforms and 2.) Sustainability is a core driver as opposed to an afterthought (e.g. resulting “tax” benefits of initiatives). The authors propose that this synergistic approach is likely to help to ensure the timely adoption of a broad range of pervasive connectivity services and

potentially serve as an example to other industries to embrace sustainable development practices for economic and operational advantages.

II. LITERATURE REVIEW In this section, the authors present a context within

which pervasive technology has emerged, as well as key aspects to consider relative to the hotel industry.

A. Current Considerations for Pervasive Technology Pervasive computing (also known as ubiquitous

computing) was a revolutionary technology in the early 90s. Through pervasive computing, embedded devices autonomously learn from user behaviors, needs, and preferences through computations. Connectivity of devices can be seamlessly enabled to achieve informational exchange through wireless networks, often in the background and without user awareness. Unlike virtual reality, in which the primary focus is to get people to work inside the computer, pervasive computing attempts to free the human from the machine interface and focuses on forcing the devices to live with people, while enhancing user experiences [1].

Pervasive computing has been used in the hotel industry. Johnstone illustrated how Radisson Blue Frankfurt Hotel has successfully implemented integrated building management system (iBMS) to create an intelligent building with business sytems, business facilities and end users combined. Every guest room empowers the individual with control over air conditioning, comfort, and ventilation. Upon check-in, iBMS automatically started adjusting room temperature, while on check-out, it reverted to a setback level [2]. For years, green buildings have been aiming for energy-efficiency to reduce negative impacts on the environment. Yudelson [3] reports LEED-certified projects resulted in an average of 30 percent water-use reduction and 30 to 55 percent energy savings.

Yet another emerging pervasive technology for buildings to achieve sustainability is Exobuilding. This adaptive architecture can connect humans with the building environment; human physiological data is linked to the fabric of building architecture [4] [5]. Users enjoy an environment where personal information (e.g. preferences on temperature, noise levels, etc.) and physiological reactions (e.g. mood, heart rate, perspiration, etc.) can be collected an analyzed through computations, resulting in automatic adjustments to the environment to establish improved temperature, lighting, sound, and oxygen levels. Concentrating these operational spheres to the smallest possible footprint (e.g. a 1 meter sphere around a given individual) will prevent unnecessary

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usage of resources (e.g. utilities). From pervasive technology, other paradigms have emerged and enablers continue to develop. Although limited in scope, the authors present key aspects for the reader to considerations and as follows.

The Internet of Things (IoT) evolved from pervasive computing. Although IoT seems to be a relatively a new topic, its enabling technologies have been around for some time; RFID (radio-frequency identification) was invented in 20th century and has been widely used to interconnect objects for tracking to achieve transparency in systems.

Calm Technology also evolved from pervasive computing; it was designed to hide unnecessary information and to serve users without demanding attention [1] [6]. In such sustainable buildings as the Pola Building in Tokyo, Japan, the building adapts to the changing environment as light sensors adjust the shutters to manage heat and light. Occupants are therefore freed from the demand of intervening to change lighting or temperatures in the work environment.

Ambient intelligence (AmI) and pervasive computing are often terms used interchangeably; however, the AmI paradigm stresses intelligence and forecasting behaviors [7]. In a world of limited resources, researchers have effectively used AmI as a means to further sustainability in communities. An example is how Silva [8] affected better decision-making for human actions relative to recycling) by using ambient sensors to monitor the actions of community members (i.e. who recycled what and how much) and to provide recommendations to the community for more awareness and accountability (e.g. how your neighbors recycled more than you, or more effectively). This may present a potential basis for gamification. Hotels could potentially achieve significant reduction in laundering towels and sheets with a system that not only monitors the actions of the users, but also rewards those who embrace practices of sustainability (e.g. reusing towels, conserving on shower water, etc.).

Cloud computing, “a model that enables ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources" (e.g. networks, servers, storage, etc.) [9], is a key enabler of pervasive technology. Cloud has also propagated the orchestration of IoT and human interface; users have access to applications or information without storing these on local devices. When considering a decrease of the unnecessary use of resources (e.g. reducing the carbon footprint of travel for training, development, and education), applications in the cloud could provide hotels and guests with access to mobile learning and a shared pool of resources [10].

B. The Future Considerations of Pervasive Connectivity Most current usages of sensor-based pervasive computing

are still situated within the application of RFID-based logistics and security systems to detect exceptions.. Future visions of pervasive computing suggest more advanced M2M communication, human to machine (H2M) interface, and advanced security technologies [11]. Agha [12] purports the next logical step for pervasive technology is to be globally networked, creating a cyberspace that allows for pervasive (or ubiquitous) relationships between humans, and objects in the real world.

In the personal realm, the self-quantification movement would greatly affect the human to machine (H2M) interface, as well as enhancing P2P (person to person) or social networks. With SQ, personalized, quality data are collected and synthesized through devices worn by an individual. These data often include all daily personal inputs (e.g. quality of air, food consumed, mood, heart rate, oxygen flow, etc.) and then are used to quantify the individual’s daily life (e.g. a score of quality). With this self-quantification, individuals could now share very specific preferences and needs as a customer. Using the data, hotels that are attempting to achieve mass customization can more e\anticipate the needs of guests, as the guests share data to receive new levels of personalized and customized services. Additionally, guests can be more connected with other users and equipped to share information with minimal effort. Such usage is known as “People as Sensors” [13] [14]. In this application, individuals would use technology (e.g. mobile phone, wearables such as Google Glass) to look towards the external environment and collect real-time data to enter into a data warehouse. Users would then become a collective network by sharing their information with the on-line community, such as weather observations, public transit or traffic issues, real-time restaurant wait times, public health issues, or even safety concerns around the hotel or destination city.

C. Risks to Consider There are four risks identified relative to the usage of

pervasive technology and they are: security, safety, privacy, and standardization. Trust, safety and privacy issues have arisen because pervasive systems are often equipped to receive user information and react to situations without explicit user interaction, confirmation, or consent [15]. In the aforementioned example of “People as Sensors,” traffic patterns can be calculated by reading location-based devices (e.g. the mobile phones of all drivers on the highway); however, opt-in or opt-out feature are usually not provided. The characteristics of pervasive scenarios tend to invite eavesdroppers raising concerns about security [16]. The strategies traditionally used to protect individual computers and networks are insufficient for pervasive environments [17]. Security has become a critical issue in the design and operation of embedded computer systems [18]. System designers face significant challenges because pervasive technologies authorize free access to exchange information among different environments. Thus, it is necessary to have regulations, and standards not only for interoperability and communication protocols, but also to ensure comprehensive and consistent user security and privacy [6] . Those who study smart buildings have admitted: even encrypted data from wireless smart devices could provide information to potential attackers [19].

If data encryption became impenetrable, issues still exist relative to government access to data. Recent rulings in the U.S. formally allow surveillance (e.g. the National Security Agency). Some companies are responding by storing their confidential data somewhere other than in US. If this trend were to continue, US cloud computing firms could suffer up to a 35 billion dollars loss over the next three years [20].

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D. The Current Environment: 19th Century Architecture + 20th Century Infrastructure = 21st Century Isolation With the innovative technologies becoming low-cost

and efficient, hotels must consider the positive impacts of pervasive connectivity to meet marketing objectives. The ability to capitalize on change will be an important factor in winning a sustainable competitive advantage. Those who are able to identify opportunities will be able to create the greatest value. Traditional organizational models are becoming obsolete; increased connectivity offers new organizational models [21]. Pervasive technology can be used to bring the user premium levels of convenience and service excellence.

The major characteristics of the lodging industry have shifted from a focus on accommodating strangers with physical space to a more developed discipline focus that emphasizes the guest’s experience and provides him or her with customer-focused services. Hotels are no longer just buildings filled with beds to stay over on a fixed rate. Various factors such as new types of economies (e.g. the emerging collaborative economy), emerging technologies (e.g. certain applications of pervasive computing), and studies (e.g. hotel revenue management) have provided the impetus for improving the lodging industry. Yet, it appears as if many hotels have failed to apply new connectivity models to maximize their profits.

Owyang [22] defined the emerging collaborative economy as “an economic model in which ownership and access are shared between corporations, startups, and people. It is an economy that creates market efficiencies in future business growth.”. Three market forces that drive the collaborative economy are identified: 1. societal drivers, 2. economic drivers and 3. technology drivers. Car-sharing, for example, has become a common practice in many cities where collaborate economy is embraced. BMW has been applying this concept by sharing its electric cars in San Francisco to users who are in need of cars for a short period of time. Once users finish registering online, they are able to locate the car in many of the DriveNow stations (stations where cars can be charged, parked, and returned back) through smart phones or website.

Hotels in the U.S. were primarily designed and built in the early nineteenth century in response to the transportation revolution. In addition to providing accommodations and public space for travelers regardless of status (e.g. native or foreign to local business), hotels were built with the intent of growing and benefitting from an increase of commerce; owners took advantage of their physical presence [23]. However, lodging is now changing from a product-focused, physical asset-intensive industry to a more customer-focused, brand-intensive focus. The goal of the lodging industry has been value maximization for investors, owners, and managers of the properties, but the means of realizing that value has shifted. This gives rise to the transformation of the lodging industry into the next level with the need to take into account drivers as physical constraints, technology, and globalization [24] .

It is the opinion of the authors that hotels maintain a rudimentary business traveler environment despite efforts to improve customer experiences by installing ambient technologies such as voice activated light switches, electronic sensor facets, and temperature monitoring air-conditioners.

Many customers are frustrated at properties that have limited broadband or cellular connectivity [25]. Building heights, construction materials, and distance to network providers, often affect the quality of connectivity for guests [26]. AHLA (2013) purported that guests feel an atmosphere of hostility when receiving services from hotels. In some instances the strategies currently being applied by hoteliers to increase revenue include offering overpriced, captive services and increased room rates .

Hotels have evolved dramatically over the years in aspects of physical designs, functional improvements, service diversification, management advancement and market segmentation; however, the basic philosophy of surviving and developing in the lodging industry often continues to be utilizing revenue centers to generate targeted profits. Such revenue centers include room division, food and beverage, function rooms, fitness/spa facilities, golf courses, and hotels use casino gambling facilities in which pricing as a revenue generation tool [27]. However, hoteliers must take note of the sharing economy model done through an online platform with rental and lodging information (like that used by Airbnb). This model has created a more competitive external environment. In contrast to hotels, these companies connect individuals around the world and offer unique options, lower prices for accommodations, and flexible and customized room selections. When considering future users, Millennials have been empowered by pervasive connectivity to share information person to person (P2P) more effectively and effortlessly. The traditional hotel services are not likely to satisfy the needs of this younger generation who want high levels of connectivity, customization, and personalization. Therefore, opportunities for utilizing pervasive connectivity into hotels should be viewed as an imperative.

III. DISCUSSION

A. Proposed: 21st Century Model for Dynamically Adaptive Reusable Travel Spaces (DARTS) Even the now typical boom/bust economic cycles typified

in the latter half of the 20th century are simultaneously being driven up in impact and down in duration. Hotels could enable a broad range of new transactional revenue opportunities by re-engineering their operational, physical, and logical connectivity models to a 21st century standard, which can exploit the benefits of pervasive computing. These services would be directed toward traditional guests, local residents, and transient visitors. This architecture would enable properly equipped properties to materially participate in the opportunities emerging in such areas as sustainable travel. This would include zero/negative carbon expenditure transit, urban agricultural development/ operations. Additionally, space could be strategically allocated for temporally defined urban retail and dining such as pop-up shops/restaurants, or event-driven commerce. Hotel properties could be champions of sustainability as host to new a vast array of new revenue centers such as transient demonstration centers in which a company utilizes space to showcase time and/or location sensitive products and services such as live music/theatre, cooperative culinary education, micro-focused limited edition clothing/art/consumer products, and ad-hoc live/work project clusters (e.g. digital artist colonies, technology incubator camps, project-based co-work space such as …, etc.). The adoption of this architecture has the potential to not only

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redefine the generally accepted definition of hotels (e.g. rooms, restaurants, and business centers used by traditional guests), but to also to serve as an essential counterpoint to the emerging disruptive elements of the sharing and collaborative economies.

To address the changes, the authors propose a model as depicted in Exhibit 1: Dynamically Adaptive Reusable Travel Spaces (DARTS). The model, though not yet validated, consists of three components that the authors believe could be designed and deployed in both new and existing structures/properties. Following the model, the authors will contemplate advantages and risks of the DARTS model.

a) Pervasive Persistent Information Architecture

(PPAI): The Pervasive Persistent Information Architecture (PPIA) is designed to provide real-time aggregation, analysis, and action on a given users data in a fully context aware operating mode. For example, the historical and surfacing preferences and needs of the user would be shared across multiple platforms and readily available to the hotel. An opt-in of the guest would allow the music and color of the hotel room to be adjusted to match the guest’s daily desires. The body temperature fluctuations of this guest would be aggregated during a night of sleep allowing for action through smart blankets with heat shields to learn the guest so as to respond and adjust to the body temperatures of the guest throughout the sleeping process. As the room temperature preferences of the guest are aggregated over time, the hotel could use responsive bio-thermic inserts for personalized microclimate creation and control. Resources previously allocated to traditional wall art would be replaced with technology that allows for either the hotel or the guest to customize the art within the space used (e.g. corporate logos or product specifications during business interactions, pictures of family and friends scrolling during personal use of space, or even choice of classic art when the mood suits). Shared preferences of the guest, garnered through social media sites and/or self-quantification data, would allow the hotel to anticipate even daily needs and preferences. With this real-time and relevant customized information, hotels could achieve a high level of customization for each guest as needs arise, while also mitigating typical costs from less adaptive delivery methods.

Facilitating this requires structuring elements (interactive and passive) to provide a constant status feed for authorized applications. This ensures the physical and logical

correlation of all defined elements with a high degree of availability to any user generated or authorized process. The ability to combine elements into objects that carry the necessary information to provide calls across a variety of database architectures allows user-defined requirements to be passed between systems without the loss of key information / requirements / preferences.

b) Adaptive Modular Construction Architecture: The Adaptive Modular Construction Architecture (AMCA) is a segment of the model that addresses the physical building; it exchanges more traditional purpose-built space and divisions for techniques that allow for dynamic space creation based upon real-time functional requirements. Traditional boundaries such as walls and doors are now avoided in favor of configurable, electronically-assisted physical and logical dividers. If a guest is utilizing a traditional hotel room for conducting a business meeting followed by a private dinner, adaptable walls within the room could allow for easily divided zones for delineation of work versus entertaining. These divisions do not need to be limited to physical walls, but can also be created using acoustic field modeling and projection such as sound barriers and/or virtual room divisions. Hotels could consider flexible image displays utilizing LED, LCD thin-film and projection technologies to create more adaptable and flexible use of visuals. The bendable screen devices (typically composed of advanced polymers, as opposed to fixed curvature/hinged glass) could be wrapped around anything. Currently, uses of such wrappables could range from monitoring performance as one exercises in the hotel gym, to smart bandages that sense the level of infection and transmit data back to help generate effective treatments to assessing environmental pollution of the vicinity around the property [28].

Additional technology within the adaptable space could also allow for virtual attendees to participate in the business meeting as necessary; therefore, the hotel would provide the means for the guest to reduce their carbon footprint and save valuable resources of time, money, and energy. In the penultimate version of this model, space requirements are user-defined; the hotel is able to physically and logically provision the large box-like building shell on an as-needed basis. The environment is now equipped with electronics or purely reusable components. Therefore, the rooms are highly adaptable to quickly meet the user’s needs or preferences while also mitigating typical negative ramifications associated with room turns, unnecessary use of human resources, unsold space, wasted physical resources, and even unmet customer requirements. Through pervasive technology, traditional spaces such as hotel rooms now become versatile – real-time - to generate diversified lines of revenue.

c) Resource Allocation Module: The Resource Allocation Module (RAM) is a reservation and scheduling sub-system ensuring all elements in the DARTS model are available, distributable, configurable, and installable on an on-demand basis. This aspect of the model allows for a robust and highly responsive delivery system. The RAM has the capability to manage defined pools of resources, both actual and virtual, across multiple domains inside and outside of the hotel environment. This provides the potential for just-in-time (JIT) resource delivery throughout projects affiliated by ownership, membership, or arrangements defined by external groups. For example, if information is shared real-time

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between all stakeholders, physical space could be chosen and used strategically; room use would be optimized, turns would decrease, resources would be conserved, and delivery would not be premature. Although the RAM is envisioned essentially as an integrated layer that runs beneath proprietary vendor provisioned reservation systems, the fact that it is an open source offering would allow 3rd parties to create and maintain user-facing systems built on the core technology. External groups would be afforded certain aspects of transparency into the hotel’s resource availability.

B. Service Catalog & Democratized Data Although the DARTS model is designed to provide an

exceptionally high degree of flexibility and customization for both users and providers, the development of an ITIL-compliant (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) Service Catalog is essential. The Service Catalog serves as a repository of templates containing the orchestration sequence necessary to enable a specified suite of results (e.g. physical space, catering, entertainment). The Service Catalog architecture is both modular and context aware so as not to impede the desires of users while simultaneously providing an element of security. This is also the area where dependencies, cost/pricing, assignments, escalation procedures, and service level agreements (SLA) are defined. One of the more positive outgrowths of the implementation of a service catalog and service level agreements is timely and enhanced customer satisfaction metrics tightly coupled to the actual services consumed.

C. Advantages of the DARTS model Although the authors believe it is best to utilize the four

elements to ensure functionality and interoperability, the model does provide sufficient elasticity so that varying levels of participation can be achieved with relatively modest monetary / time investments. One of the greatest potential benefits of the DARTS model is the quality of data produced regarding the consumption of hospitality resources within a given geography. If access to this data was democratized, possibly via local governmental requirements regarding construction, zoning, and/or operating permits, the city planning function could be greatly enhanced.

The primary advantages to the DARTS Model in the hotel operations are threefold and include: dynamic allocation of resources, yield management, and environmental flexibility. The design goal of the model is not to improve the efficiency and economy of the existing hotel business model; rather it is designed to foment the preconceived understanding and boundaries of what defines a hotel. It is not designed to be transparent to the user; rather, it is designed to inject a previously unheard of level of transparency into an industry whose fee for service model is predicated on a business climate that simply no longer exists. The effect of these has an additive overall positive effect on user (guest) experience as illustrated in the functional / experiential examples that follow.

a) Dynamic Allocation of Resources: The DARTS model provides for a very high degree of resource granularity, which in addition to flexibility provides dramatic improvements to both configuration speed and design potential. One of the primary benefits of the PPIA is that elements, both physical and logical, are no longer constrained by physical proximity or direct ownership. Examples of this

would be the ability for a hybrid professional / educational conference to be held simultaneously in multiple geographic locations. Instead of the low-level cooperation currently negotiated between various educational institutions, a higher quantity and quality of professional services could be donated by sponsoring commercial and/or governmental agencies. These professional services may include advanced IT infrastructure, video/audio production, and traditional hospitality items such as lodging and catering. Since the resources would be allocated JIT, they would not need to be committed in advance of the actual event commencement. This would greatly diminish the downside risks associated with over or under provisioning. Late additions would also be more easily accommodated, and possibly with an improved fee structure. The pervasive confederated technology infrastructure and professional services would also allow for the possibility of the creation and marketing of discrete rights packages for portions of the event itself. Instead of a single organizing entity bearing all of the cost / publishing burdens, these could be apportioned among a more diverse group of potentially interested parties. This approach allows for synergistic deployments for both educational institutions and professional organizations so that they would be able to add value to concurrent commercial streams running under the same event banner without compromise to their respective intellectual integrity.

b) Yield Management: One of the greatest challenges facing the hotel industry is the decidedly fixed purpose nature of the architectural model. No matter the geographic location of the property or the aggregate interior dimensions, the typical occupancy rates hover mostly in the 60 to 70% range during times of economic expansion and often decidedly less during recessionary periods. These rates do not factor in the meeting rooms or common facilities that typically underperform in terms of overall occupancy. The current yield management practices of hotels revolve largely around pushing the standard configuration offer (room prices) with dramatic discounts offered via third party aggregators (e.g. Priceline, Orbitz, etc.) on a just-in-time basis. There are very few options in this regard to the fixed configuration meeting and/or banquet spaces that frequently go unoccupied. This has the doubly negative effect of both a reduction in gross operating margins for the hotel and the reward component of the perceived value to the consumer (the bargain price) being bestowed by a third party. Therefore, elements of the DARTS model are designed not only to improve yield management through traditional channels, but also to realize the potential benefits afforded by pervasive connectivity to expand the overall opportunity base and create net new transaction opportunities.

Although the AMCA may be rooted in sustainable building philosophy, the opportunity for ultimate adoption will be tightly coupled with the ability to improve the yield curve of the fixed assets of all hotels: physical space. The aforementioned environmental flexibility may simply be viewed as the ability to extend the quantity and price of products offered on an ad-hoc basis. Moreover, the customer facing views of both the Service Catalog and Resource Allocation Module provide a unique user experience via customization and individualized service level agreements. Urban hotels, where physical space is typically in demand, potentially gain significant new opportunities for adopting the yield management philosophy of the model. The global trend towards increasingly smaller urban living spaces has

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exacerbated demand for casual entertainment and meeting spaces with an element of privacy. The early 21st century residential construction solution was the inclusion of elaborate common facilities in new city developments. While initially appealing, this has begun to rapidly fall out of favor due to the maintenance costs being passed onto the owners in the form of increasing monthly fees. The ability for urban residents and/or visitors to use configurable spaces and associated services within hotels on an ad-hoc basis may truly be brought to fruition with the adoption of the DARTS model. Examples can be as simple as a group of friends ordering and configuring a physical space to view a live sporting event. The flexibility of the architecture means that these gatherings are no longer limited to the physical entertainment space within a residence. The architecture also provides the ability to hold coordinated events in multiple geographies. These can range from product development meetings for startups to a series of virtual school reunions. The ability to utilize the physical space and associated assets of a hotel property in different ways during various time periods has the potential to substantively increase the overall yield curve to the point where the metrics may need to change to room hours instead of the current unit of measurement of nights.

c) Sustainability Impact Potential: Adoption of the DARTS model could have a direct impact on the operation of legacy properties as previously discussed, but the greatest impact may be derived from the operational insights gained. Although the trend towards sustainable construction is laudable, the impact of building ever-larger LEED certified buildings in urban, suburban, and campus locations still have a negative environmental impact. No matter how efficient a building may be, every moment that it spends as an underutilized asset has a negative effect on the overall sustainable development curve of the area or region. This is especially true for the standard configuration modern hotel properties as they continue to consume more resources in unoccupied / underutilized areas of the properties than other classes of buildings.

The data derived from DARTS enabled operation would provide a far more definitive view of the actual demand for hotels and hotel-based services in a given jurisdiction. Instead of reliance on the “Field of Dreams” (e.g. build it and they will come) model, local governments would be armed with the data to ensure compliance within the stated parameters of applicable sustainable development mandates. If adopted in conjunction with a comprehensive program designed to encourage adaptive reuse of public, quasi-public, and obsolete commercial properties the inevitable accusations of anti-growth basis may be overcome. DARTS-based management systems would be capable of ensuring the rate of energy consumption of the pervasive communication resources and coordinating overflows so that data centers always operate at peak energy efficiency. The model would also allow for a very precise accounting of energy consumed vs. conserved, waste produced, and carbon footprint based on an individual or group’s activity at any DARTS-enabled hotel. This information could be stored and utilized for a future impact-based incentive program.

D. Risks to Adoption of the DARTS Model This model is not yet validated. There will be gating

factors that may cause various elements of the DARTS

model to be either postponed, or canceled altogether. The greatest risks to adopting the DARTS model come in the areas of complexity, control, and cost as illustrated herein:

a) Complexity: Implementation of the DARTS model could potentially be somewhat onerous for small to medium sized hotel chains, or independent properties. The expectation is that qualified managed service providers or systems integrators would enable the model, particularly those with significant experience in cloud service deployment. Integration with the IoT will also have an impact on complexity since most existing strategic planning assumptions are woefully inadequate to handle the impending deluge of message traffic.

b) Control: The span of control required by DARTS actually highlights two potential areas of risk; the necessary span of control required to maintain instances of end user requirements / behaviors and the ability to effectively direct resources not under the direct control of the individual or organization utilizing a given service. DARTS also raises concerns regarding the current paradigm of public cloud services that are highly centralized (e.g. Amazon Web Services, Google, and RackSpace). The truly pervasive nature of the DARTS model would be far better served by widely distributed network of much smaller cloud data centers in order to reduce latency and counteract the effects of data gravity [29] [30].

c) Cost: Although the DARTS model was designed to allow property owners/managers to benefit from incremental implementations; the greatest efficiencies are realized with the broadest installation. The greatest cost considerations would come in the form of AMCA as it would require substantive renovation to existing properties – the impact is projected to be quite manageable in new construction. The cloud services functionality that is required to enable the RAM and Service Catalog architecture are increasingly available as a managed service therefore eliminating the CapEx requirement, but typically raising the OpEx above existing levels. Although personnel reduction costs often offset the differential in many industries, hospitality is notably lean in IT staffing and, as a class, would likely see a net increase in cost.

IV. CONCLUSION Pervasive connectivity will increasingly affect aspects of

business and leisure travel whether hoteliers choose to embrace it or not. Hotels risk alienating Millennials, a growth segment of the market, by failing to adopt a model that seamlessly integrates all of the potential benefits of pervasive connectivity with a fully articulated sustainable travel ethos. Hoteliers should consider a phased adoption of the model, to address competing service providers (e.g. Airbnb). This will ensure a path towards an holistic 21st century operating environment.

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