Your Hotel On The Wheels- Autonomous Vehicles as Hotel Suites are Getting Developed

In the 21st century, architects have been executing some of the most innovative and original hotel concepts and designs which are pushing the boundaries of what we expect in a hotel experience, some of which include an underground hotel and even an energy-positive concept. Not to be outdone, engineers have been coming up with bold autonomous vehicle concepts which integrate luxury and sustainability.

In light of these two striking developments, one would ask Why not combine the best of both worlds? One company is setting out to do that with its autonomous mobile hotel concept. Conceived by the Brooklyn-based Aprilli Design Studio, the Autonomous Travel Suite will essentially provide a door-to-door transportation service that starts at a traveler's home and ends at the destination. 

The Logistics Behind the Idea

Autonomous Hotel Chain, which includes a network of like-minded hotel facilities, provides unmanned service vehicles, all of which is supported by advanced technology and the central Autonomous Interface platform.

Created around the goal of serving as a "specialized Hospitality-serviced mobile room, not a car", each suite features basic amenities and generous room for sleeping, working and refreshing. Beyond the possibility to travel to multiple destinations, what also sets them apart is the presence of professional hospitality services, which helps establish a home away from home feel, from start to finish. 

The strategy behind the project also involves maintaining a fleet of autonomous vehicles in a central hub for deployment.

Autonomous Travel Suite from Aprilli on Vimeo.

The long-term goal of this emerging industry is to reduce the amount of time lost between transfers that are a part of the currently operating travel and hospitality industries. Designed with a vision of travel distance between major US cities that covers an average of 6-12 hours, the concept aims to set up a dynamic new pricing structure that effectively combines air travel, local transport, and hotel in one convenient package. Viewed from this angle, the potential benefits for travelers become immense. 

Industry Recognition

As a symbol of the growing support behind its innovative ideas, the design atelier picked up this year's Radical Innovation Award for their idea, under the title of "Room Extension Solution", earlier this month.

 John Hardy, CEO and President of The John Hardy Group and Founder of Radical Innovation, on discussing why the project captured the honor this year, commented, “The goal of our Radical Innovation community is to create entirely new segments of the travel and hospitality industries,” adding, “The Autonomous Travel Suite is the perfect example of this – utilizing sustainable technology as a travel solution that best serves the consumer of tomorrow.”

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Although the service is sure to have a game-changing impact in the overall industries of hospitality, travel, and transportation, for travel-weary professionals especially, the impact should be seen first. Imagining a future of business travel in the United States which does not center around transfer after transfer--not to mention the time spent waiting between transfers--seems much more possible thanks to the forward-thinking ideas being put forth by Aprilli Design Studio.