AccorHotels Intros ‘Smart,’ Accessible Guestroom

PARIS—AccorHotels has unveiled its new “Smart Room” to deliver cutting-edge accessibility features designed to meet the needs of every traveler, with hopes to inspire the hotel industry to follow suit.

Developed by the design solutions department of AccorHotels in association with designer Didier Versavel, the concept room is arrayed with features that meet the needs of guests with reduced mobility.

Working in consultation with AccorHotels’ employees with disabilities to create smart technical, technological and design solutions, the group’s teams are reinterpreting accessibility standards far beyond the industry norm to offer an accommodation experience that puts an end to the segmentation between accessible rooms designed for persons with reduced mobility (PRM) and other rooms, according to the brand.

“With the Smart Room concept, our goal is to inspire the hotel market by introducing a new approach to the traditional PRM room, which is often unoccupied, not very welcoming, and stigmatizing,” said Damien Perrot, SVP, design solutions at AccorHotels. “We have envisioned a room for everyone, with design and creativity adhering to PRM standards and practices to the point that they disappear to the benefit of emotional and sensorial experience. This innovation can be tailored to all AccorHotels brands in all segments. It reflects the group’s desire to pave the way towards positive hospitality and to respond to the concerns and requirements of all our guests.”

Sized to accommodate up to three people, the guestroom has the following features:

  • a connected tablet to adjust light and music (through a Devialet Phantom speaker) to create the atmosphere, close curtains, tilt the headboard and control audiovisual equipment
  • a wardrobe with sliding shelves and rods for access to clothes
  • LED lighting with footboard motion sensor facilitating movement at night
  • a television positioned on a 180-degree swivel panel
  • a bathroom equipped with an easily adjustable showerhead, a folding and adjustable shower seat, a height-adjustable sink, designer grab bars doubling as towel rails and other features
  • sleep aids, including Dodow, a device that promotes both concentration and sleep, or Dreem, a headband with integrated brain energy sensors and a relaxation system
  • customizable olfactory atmospheres with Sensorwake, to create a gentle awakening experience to the aromas of either coffee, tea, sea breeze, as well as shower capsules perfumed with essential oils created by Skinjay