Switchable Glass helps make the Hotel of the Future

In recent years, the hotelier industry has become extremely competitive with the rise in popularity of boutique hotels and the huge increase in travellers choosing to use holiday letting sites like Airbnb and HomeAway. But why are well established hotel chains losing potential guests to less known names and private lettings? One could argue that the price is the biggest factor, however trends suggest that people are looking for experience based holidays, with the demand for “staycations” being up 70% since 2016. People are looking for a unique experience when they stay away from home, something memorable that stands out from the other options available to them on the market.

Adapting your hotel to be a contender with these new “staycation” homes might at first seem like a costly endeavour, but surprisingly, a total refurbishment of your hotel isn’t necessary. Installing simple changes can easily give the wow factor to guests and with minimal disturbance to the existing design you can transform your space into a cutting edge hotel of the future. By incorporating innovative switchable technology solutions, you can transform you hotel into an extravagant and exciting place for guests to stay without the luxury price tag.

Switchable technology offers many solutions within the hotel industry, one of the savviest being used as partitioning within a hotel bedroom. Switchable Smart Glass can be cleverly used as a partition between the bedroom and bathroom areas to make the room appear larger and give your guests the option of privacy at their discretion. This clever technology when switched off appears as a frosted glass panel, before switching to clear by the touch of a button. These huge frosted panels compliment the room by giving the décor an air of luxury and class, creating a unique, modern space for your guests to unwind in. Using Switchable Glass within the room is not only a brilliant way of making the room look deceptively larger, but it also allows natural light into areas it wouldn’t normally reach with a standard partitioning wall. Switchable technology can also be applied to shower cubicles, giving a bathroom space the illusion of being a larger space but also giving guests the option of privacy when in use.

For bathroom use, we also offer a Laminate Switchable Glass, a watertight alternative to our standard Switchable Glass. Designed for use in wet rooms, shower cubicles and pool areas, our unique manufacturing process ensures that all of our Laminated Glass panels provide superior performance and clarity in every project.

Toughened Laminate Switchable Glass Shower Cubicle

Another clever use of switchable technology is the Switchable Door Panel, perfect for use in family adjoining rooms. The demand for family rooms has increased over recent years, with many people turning to holiday letting sites with their business when hotels can’t accommodate them in a family room. By installing a Switchable Door Panel between adjoining family rooms, parents and children can have the privacy of their own rooms, whilst also giving parents the ability to use the panel to monitor the rest of the family’s activity in the adjoining room. These door panels also work well when integrated into the doors of meeting rooms and recreational facilities, maintaining privacy whilst also having the ability to give people a quick way of seeing if the room is occupied without disturbing the occupants. These panels don’t require any expensive cabling work, as the power source and wiring is contained in a small unit and concealed within the door itself.

Switchable Door Vision Panel

The great thing about switchable technology is the ability to fit it retrospectively to existing surfaces if needed. As well as our Switchable Glass we also offer Self Adhesive Switchable Film which can be installed hassle free to pre-existing glass surfaces, perfect for adapting existing features within the hotel with minimal disruption to normal business.

Recently the hotel industry has been eager to incorporate our switchable range into their businesses, creating original applications of the technology throughout many areas of the hotel aside from the bedrooms. Take a gym for example; by integrating switchable glass into the gym’s design, you can give your guests the option of a private area to exercise as well as giving you the ability to be able to fully showcase the facilities that you have to offer when you need to. This can work in the same way for many other facilities, like spas, meeting rooms and pools, allowing you to create versatile and engaging spaces throughout your hotel.

Switchable Glass doesn’t have to just be used as a privacy solution. When paired with a projection system, the switchable screen becomes a canvas for creativity with endless application possibilities. One of the most creative uses of this technique in a past project was when our Switchable Glass was used in Extreme Makeover: Home edition as a partition and a Switchable Glass Projection Screen. When the glass is switched off, the frosted surface becomes the perfect space to project onto, saving huge amounts of space whilst creating a show-stopping focal point in the room. This application could easily be replicated within a lobby using brand materials to create a memorable first impression for every visitor. By doing this, visitors will be wowed and impressed, filling them with confidence about their stay with you before they’ve even had chance to check in.

The integration of Switchable Glass would provide each visitor with an unforgettable experience from a business they can trust. By creating a modern and engaging environment for guests, visitors will be less inclined to opt for the experience of private and potentially unreliable “staycation” venues over an established name they can trust.

We pride ourselves on our expert knowledge and years of experience which enables us to appropriately advise and assist with exciting projects that specify our products. If you have an idea for a great application, we would love to hear from you. There are countless ways you can apply this technology- the applications are limited only by your imagination. We can manufacture single panels for smaller projects or even bulk orders for large scale projects such as hotel chain refurbishments.

#Switchon to the benefits of Intelligent Glass today and get in touch.

Interested?

Intelligent Glass offers a wide range of switchable smart glass solutions with options including toughened glass, laminated panels, smart glass windows and the retrofit self-adhesive switchable film.

If you would like further information, a pricing quote, or to discuss ideas for using our switchable smart glass and smart film products, please please get in touch using the form below, or call us on +44 (0)1226 351 759.