The Hotel Room of the Future | Live at NOVACANCY London

What does the hotel room of the future actually look like? And more importantly, could we build it today?

In this special live episode recorded at No Vacancy London, Hayley Roy and Hannah Denny from HARP Design take to the stage to explore how hotels can create spaces that are better for guests, better for the planet, and better for business.

The conversation starts with one surprising fact: hotel bathrooms can account for up to 70% of a room's water use. That single statistic sparked the design of an entire hotel room centred around three key principles: guest wellbeing, sustainability and longevity.

Hayley and Hannah discuss why sleep should be treated as one of the most important guest experiences, featuring innovations such as temperature-regulating beds from FreshBed and premium pillows from Simon Sleep. They also explore how technology can enhance the guest experience without overwhelming it.

The discussion then turns to one of hospitality's biggest environmental challenges, water. Featuring Orbital's real-time water recycling shower technology, developed alongside Inside the Box Consulting, they explore how bathrooms can become some of the most sustainable spaces in a hotel.

Finally, they tackle an issue the industry doesn't often talk about enough: why are we still ripping out perfectly good interiors every five to seven years? The conversation looks at designing for longevity through modular furniture, repairable materials and smarter supplier collaboration, proving that sustainability can reduce costs as well as environmental impact.

The episode finishes with a lively audience Q&A covering technology, cost, implementation and whether the hospitality industry is truly ready for meaningful change.

Whether you're a hotel owner, designer, operator or supplier, this episode is packed with practical ideas that challenge the way we think about hotel design.

In this episode:

• Why water should be one of hospitality's biggest priorities
• Designing hotel rooms around guest wellbeing and better sleep
• The future of water-saving bathroom technology
• Why longevity should replace planned replacement
• How circular design can save both money and carbon
• Live audience questions on cost, technology and implementation

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to like, subscribe and share it with someone in the hospitality industry. We'd love to hear your thoughts. What does your hotel room of the future look like? Let us know in the comments below.

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome & Introduction 01:08 Why Water Matters 03:28 Designing a Hotel Room That Performs 04:18 Guest Wellbeing & Better Sleep 04:52 Sleep Technology & Bed Innovation 07:26 Interactive Guest Technology 07:51 Rethinking Sustainable Bathrooms 08:57 Orbital's Water Recycling Shower System 10:18 Designing for Longevity 11:39 Meet the Project Partners 13:09 The Responsibility of Designers & Buyers 16:16 Audience Q&A: Longevity 19:50 Audience Q&A: Technology & Cost 23:18 Is the Industry Ready? 25:34 Closing Thoughts