Hotels experiment with NFT-based reservation options, Delta to debut new class of lounges in 2023, and the world’s first floating city is underway. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
Housekeepers struggle as U.S. hotels cut cleaning
With the onset of COVID-19, demand for more intense cleaning practices skyrocketed, with hotels becoming more transparent about their sanitation methods. In a departure from the past two years, a recent article by U.S. News and World Report reveals some large hotel chains are cutting back, eschewing daily cleanings altogether. While some guests don’t seem to mind, the practice has a direct effect on employees, whose hours and therefore wages, are being cut. “This is all about more money in the owners’ pockets by putting a greater workload on frontline workers and eliminating jobs,” says D. Taylor, president of UNITE HERE, a union representing hotel workers.
KKK headquarters to be transformed into art center
More than 100 years after the brutal lynching of packinghouse worker Fred Rouse in Fort Worth, Texas, he will be honored with the Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing, which is expected to open in 2025, Hyperallergic reports. The building, formerly used as KKK headquarters will be given new life by Texas arts nonprofit Transform 1012 N. Main Street. The center will host performances, racial equity workshops, and provide workspaces for artists-in-residence. Daniel Banks, board chair of Transform 1012 N. Main Street, says: “Having visited sites of conscience around the world, we intuitively understood the power of transforming a monument to hate and violence into a space for reparative justice.”
Hotels using NFTs to avoid excess inventory
Some hotels and resorts think they’ve identified a solution to avoid getting stuck with empty rooms when guests cancel: NFTs. Casa de Campo Resorts & Villas in the Dominican Republic is partnering with startup Pinktada to convert room nights into NFTs that can be bought or sold by hotel guests in the same vein of StubHub or Ticketmaster. According to The Wall Street Journal, owners are guaranteed income and if plans change, guests can use the tokens later or sell them to another traveler. If they don’t sell, Pinktada will buy them back. Another model, employed by Stay Open (a company that converts unused retail and office space into lodging) involves “stay tokens” redeemable for a free night within their network, free with a purchase of an NFT.
BIG-designed floating city moves forward
According to Hypebeast, the world’s first floating city, located off the coast of Busan, is officially underway. First unveiled in 2021, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) is working in tandem with architecture firm SAMOO and maritime company OCEANIX to make it a reality as a response to climate change and the reality of coastal cities becoming submerged due to rising sea levels. Comprising living spaces, community centers and other buildings, everything is connected via a network of bridges and is designed to hold 12,000 people and could be expanded to hold up to 100,000.
ICYMI: Live from HD Expo
At the 2022 HD Expo in Las Vegas, Hospitality Design‘s associate editor Will Speros stopped by Richloom Contract‘s booth to catch up with Lauren Pelusio, VP of Design before visiting Durkan and Furniture Atelier, while associate editor Kathryn Greene chatted with Mingja and HotelFurniture.com. Watch all of the interviews to find out these companies’ latest offerings and why they were excited to be on the show floor.
