Hilton launches innovation gallery

Hilton announced Monday the opening of an Innovation Gallery, an incubator and experiential showcase to test products and innovations at its hotels.

The 4,300-square-foot gallery is located next to Hilton’s global headquarters at Hilton McLean Tysons Corner. It is open to invited guests, including Hilton team members, hotel owners and technology partners.

The area is designed as a place where Hilton leaders, design experts and hospitality professionals can meet and deliver new solutions for Hilton guests.

The products on display in the gallery have been recently launched or are under testing. It showcases a variety of technologies, design elements and dining concepts, ranging from noise-cancellation and sleep-inducing devices for guestrooms to more functional and sustainable materials.

The gallery is an immersive experience, which mirrors the guest’s experience of a hotel. Upon entering the space, visitors will make their way through five experiences including:

Product Showcase: A space for visitors to interact with physical and virtual products that Hilton is exploring for use in hotels. Examples of current installations include Nightingale, a noise-masking product; Somabar, a personal mixology solution; Meural, a customizable digital art display; and Pilot, a real-time translation solution.

Food & Beverage Concept Studio: This show kitchen offers an opportunity to experience and showcase the latest restaurant concepts developed by Hilton’s Food and Beverage team, along with technology to film and webcast.

Virtual Reality (VR) Stage: A dedicated space for visitors to use virtual reality headsets to experience new Hilton concepts. At launch, visitors will be able to view model rooms from two of Hilton’s newest brands, Tru by Hilton and Canopy by Hilton.

Darkroom: A progressive model guestroom dedicated to showing cutting-edge material technologies that have the potential to yield better quality, sustainability, design interest and operational returns.

Innovation Theater: The nucleus of the gallery serves as a gathering space to brainstorm and collaborate.