Many hotels are racing to add more technology and more screen time into the guest journey. But a growing number of properties are choosing the opposite path, following the movement of Digital Detox & Dead-Zoning.
Digital Detox
Digital Detox focuses on reducing or eliminating device use during a stay. Hotels encourage guests to unplug through device lockboxes, tech-free rooms, and offline activities.
Dead Zoning
Dead-Zoning goes one step further by designing spaces with limited or no connectivity, such as Wi-Fi-free rooms, signal-restricted buildings, or phone-free public areas.
Practical ways adapting in industry:
Device lock-away programs
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Grand Velas Resorts (Mexico) stores guests’ devices with a concierge and removes TVs from rooms, replacing them with board games and nature activities.
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Urban Cowboy Lodge (New York) asks guests to lock their phones in boxes for the duration of their stay.
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Hoshinoya Kyoto (Japan) collects smartphones at check-in and stores them until departure.
Wi-Fi-free or phone-restricted spaces
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Miraval Resorts (USA) restrict phone use in most public areas and provide “phone sleeping bags” to reduce distractions.
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Rancho La Puerta (Mexico) prohibits phones and laptops outside guest rooms to encourage real conversation.
Screen-free and connectivity-free rooms
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Eremito Hotel (Italy) offers rooms with no Wi-Fi, TVs, or phones, creating a monastic-style stay.
Structured detox programs
Innovation doesn’t always mean adding more technology. Sometimes it means designing the right moments without it. Would you move from “Technology-enabled convenience” to “Technology-managed wellbeing”?
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