Berlin, 10th November 2016 –
Besides the generations XYZ & Co. – best ager are the most important target group for hotels. Even more in the future. Because: Life expectancy is rising – to over 90 years in the future, which was shown by revised calculations of the German economist Eckart Bomsdorf. 28 years of retirement: A lot of time for travel, travel, travel!
According to the leading German daily newspaper “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (exclusively from an expert paper of Bomsdorf), “new-born girls of the year 2016 will reach an average of 93 years, which is about 10 years more than shown by the current life table of the Federal Statistical Office of Germany. Even boys may now hope for an average lifespan of more than 90 years”. More than 80 per cent of today’s babies are expected to be more than 85 years old and will therefore be able to cast a glance into the 22nd century.
One in four new-born girls and one in six new-born boys will be even over 100 years old. Although retirement age is higher already (currently 67), the time not working will rise to 28 years.
Hospitality and tourism will face crucial general conditions within the next decades. Equipment and offers must more than ever meet the requirements for older guests. Especially Scandic has been showing in their hotels what this means in practice: The whole hardware was proved on its accessibility and freedom from barriers by a special tester. Disabled people and people with limited mobility benefit from these changes.
More than three years ago, the well-known hotel designers Peter and Corinna Kretschmar-Joehnk already demonstrated the possibilities of building a best ager room. This room was set up in the hotel competence centre near Munich. Self-opening doors (when pushing a button), wide bath entrances, walk-in showers and electronically elevated hotel beds – those are the main factors to be considered. But there are already several barrier-free room concepts on the market today. And the different types of those concepts show how much more comfort guests experience through a more spacious planning of the rooms. There are already some regulations for hotels today, as 1% of the room size must be barrier-free already.
Health care demonstrates how the future hotel room could look like: With their “room 2025”, the German Asklepios Clinics have presented a study, which also sets new benchmarks for the hotel industry. Technology acts an important part in this advanced environment. However, overtechnification should be avoided: Air conditioning is controlled via tablet; even more important is the control of light and acoustic systems: special light diodes and sound records (for example: presetting „evening atmosphere) trigger emotional well-being and generate the feeling of being at home.
– aroma generators create more pleasant feelings among the guests
– windows, blinds and doors are also remote controlled
– Newly developed materials with antibacterial characteristics enhance hygiene and enable a faster and more efficient cleaning.
– the bathroom is barrier-free and all taps are contactless sensor controlled.
According to Asklepios, this new technical equipment is only 15 per cent more expensive than technology used to be in previous hospital rooms. Because it has been thoroughly tested in the five-star Asklepios clinic in Griesbach for one year now, the first prototype of the “Room 2025“ is setting the new benchmark.