Join us for The Modern Hotel: History, Evolution and Future, a webinar that brings together leading historians and futurists to explore how hotels have transformed from simple places to sleep into powerful cultural, technological and sustainable institutions. From the rise of the American hotel and the hybrid worlds of colonial hospitality to the technology driven, low‑carbon hotels of 2050, this session traces the hotel’s journey across past, present and future with insights from internationally recognised experts.
The Era of the Modern Hotel
Professor Kevin James’ new book, Histories, Meanings and Representations of the Modern Hotel, explores how the modern hotel emerged as a powerful cultural and economic institution beyond a place to sleep. The book explores three big themes—the rise of the high‑tech American hotel, the culturally mixed and contested colonial hotel, and the hotel’s role as a vulnerable yet strategic space in times of conflict. Through these examples, the modern hotel emerges as an open and constantly changing institution, one whose meaning is shaped by the people who design it, use it and talk about it. By highlighting how hotels sit at the crossroads of global travel, technology, power and identity, the book points us toward the future, suggesting that hotels will continue to evolve as key sites where wider social and cultural changes become visible.
The Future Hotel
The Future of Hotels: Creating What’s Next—written by Professors at the Hotel Management School Leeuwarden—looks ahead to how hotels are evolving through to 2050. The book examines four forces shaping the future: hospitality, education, sustainability and disruption. While AI, robotics and smart‑room technologies will transform operations, genuine hostmanship and human connection remain essential. Future hotels will blend high‑tech personalisation with tech‑free authenticity, embrace circular and regenerative sustainability practices and rely on a workforce educated through immersive simulations, design‑based learning and strong industry partnerships. By 2050, hotels will be highly automated, low‑carbon and flexible, offering both AI‑driven stays and deeply human‑centred retreats.
Leading Researchers
Join 5 leading futurists and historians, Ian Yeoman, Hanneke Assen, Elena Cavagnaro (all Hotel Management School Leeuwarden) Erwin Losekoot (Edith Cowan University) and Kevin James (University of Guelph) as we explore the history, evolution and future of the modern hotel.
Chair: Dr David Proctor (Hotel Management School Leeuwarden)
Details:
Wednesday, March 25, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM (Central European Time, Amsterdam)
Register here