No luxury hospitality property or residence is complete without a digital and connected infrastructure managing guest security, environment, entertainment and adding a layer of opulence that encourages guests to pay for these high-end experiences. 

Those digital links often go beyond the property, be it a high-end Airbnb, a gated resort community or a luxury yacht. From turning on the spa to remotely starting the lawncare robot or watering the garden automatically, connected services for high-end hospitality can be full of useful and statement-making tricks. 

Connected experiences tie into remote security and awareness services, they provide weather alerts and support luxury remote shopping, up to the delivery of limousines, helicopters or water transport to get the well-heeled where they want to go. 

Hospitality destinations that support connected experiences push the concept of what is possible with high-end luxury hospitality by blending accommodation with full-service concierge services that offer access to culture, entertainment, and retail. 

Just like having a valet or butler on your smartphone, they can offer a seamless, emotionally connected ecosystem to support guests and their families. 

Connected Luxury Is Going Further Than Ever

But starting at the front door, they can add that super-modern feel with a key card entry system that can ensure only genuine guests can enter, while triggering heating, mood lighting, the drapes and a host of other features for specific guests based on their profiles. 

Layered security systems can monitor the periphery to keep unwanted guests out, from wildlife to curious onlookers and criminals. The connected luxury experience doesn’t have to be all digital, though. 

If a guest is arriving, the location’s customer experience management team can ensure the right drinks are stocked, any dietary or allergy issues are met, to that suitably hard or soft mattress and pillow in place, along with their regular choice of treats and luxuries.  

This, along with high-end smart home features, all adds to the personalized feel for a guest, without the need for hospitality staff to scuttle around, maintaining a sense of privacy, with all the magic happening in the background. 

Everything is Connected With A Focus On Luxury

Once comfortable, guests can use their own smartphone or a digital terminal to order luxury entertainment in the venue, or the best tickets for nearby shows, sports and entertainment. In many countries self-driving limos can take guests there, while the food and beverage order for high-end dining can be securely delivered while they are out. 

And it doesn’t necessarily stop at what benefits the guest. Sustainability systems can support beachside lodges or mountain chalets with efficient warmth, water and energy, preventing waste and providing that feel good factor for guests. 

All these features appeal to modern travelers seeking luxury brands with no expense spared. By being connected, the brands can elevate themselves to the Stay, Shop, Play motif that applies to many modern travelers and their desire for a truly individual experience. The shopping idea doesn’t have to be limited to major brands and stores, it can expand to local artists, cultural outlets and other concepts to help guests shop without having to struggle to find and then wade through the tourist hordes to find that unique something as a reminder of a visit. 

The use of location-awareness means guests can be kept informed of events that might be of interest to them nearby, while wellness and health services can be delivered based on the location’s mood and environment sensors to keep guests happy and healthy before they even know they might be feeling a little down. 

The Power Behind the Luxury Wall Switches

All of this digital power comes at a modest cost to the location, given the ubiquity of fast broadband and the amazing breadth of connected services that are accessible at the swipe of a screen, and the ease with which new services can be integrated. 

Behind high-end brushed copper dimmer switches, avant-garde lighting and other interior design touches, fibre and wireless systems connect the guests’ personal devices to the hotel or concierge systems, and a world of advanced digital luxury. 

However, ensuring it all works, all the time, with electrical and connective redundancy, multiple backups, and failsafes for digital security is all a part of the protective layer that should surround each and every location. 

For the guest, the service needs to be unified through one app or view, seamless with no multiple logins or payment options (unless requested) and strongly personalized to meet their needs, based on both historical information and predictive awareness of the system to meet their unspoken desires tomorrow, next week or month. That’s what good concierges have been doing for decades, but adding a digital layer makes it a key part of the connected hospitality experience.