Printed items in a hotel room are getting more and more out of fashion. The tablet and the interactive television is moving into the bedroom and Netflix has become one of the standards for in-room entertainment. But what happened to the “offline” - “home from home” environment? What happened to the idea of being able to de-electrify and have a full night relaxation without any digital interference?

Sonu and Eva, the visionaries of the Soneva Resorts (www.soneva.com) have taken this approach as their mantra. “The first thing we do is ask our guests if they would like to remove their shoes. Our fondly observed ‘No News, No Shoes’ mantra grounds our guests both to nature and socially. At Soneva we encourage our guests to go bare when it comes to their feet” says Sonu and Eva.

Detox from the “always-on” life at least when you are trying to relax. The company has recently invested in an entire sustainability program, to make its clients aware of what each person can do to be more environmentally friendly, but also detox from the constant information bombardment.

Peninsula hotels have also put some thought into that whole sphere of sustainability. Although the company was one of the pioneers of digitalisation in the guest room, having implemented a digital research department all the way back in 1985, they have understood that digital smog and innovation for any price is not the way forward.

Their rooms have technology that makes sense and is in sync with young clientele as well as the older chaps. You are not in need to read the technical manual if you want to close the curtains or place a room service order. It is intuitive, and it works. The material in the room has also had its renaissance. “We are proud to lead the hotel industry by committing that all our new hotel construction and renovation projects should meet international sustainable building standards” says Peninsula hotels.

So that brings us back to the original question. Digitalisation is unstoppable, but does the simple bookmark need to disappear, or is it the first item in our guest room that sets the pace for a restful and enjoyable sleep.

…let me put that bookmark in my book, so I know where I stopped reading…