Written for Wired Magazine Innovation Insights.

Remember that 90s movie, Smart House? It’s no longer fictional (besides the insane nanny that takes over). Audiences laughed at a house taking care of you and ogled at its futuristic features. While I don’t know of a house that cooks breakfast, were getting pretty close. Smart appliances and home automation, along with wearables, were the biggest trends coming out of this year’s CES show. As people become more connected, we’re seeing those same experiences extended into the travel and hospitality space, making our lives “smarter,” both at home and away.

People are connecting to things and each other faster than ever before. We’re approaching Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point and it’s not going to be just about turning your lights on when you come home. Right now the entire IoT/IoE space it’s in its infancy with big companies trying to figure out their spin on a massive space. Some are focusing on control platforms, with Samsung’s purchase of SmartThings. Google appears to be focused on driving a standard (as well as a control platform) with their presence in the Thread community as well as acquisition of Nest and late last year’s purchase of the Revolv team. Microsoft appears to be taking an enterprise approach with their IoT strategy heavily focusing on interconnectivity and extensibility of existing technology provided in the Azure cloud platform.

Yet technology is affecting more than just our home comfort; it’s also having a huge impact on our lives away from home. If you’re anything like me, you travel a lot. Business travel in the U.S. accounts for $246 billion in spending. That means we’re spending a lot of time in hotel rooms and we want the same creature comforts we have at home.

Hoteliers — from the big chains to small indie properties — are realizing that they need to accommodate the connected traveler. More and more hotels are incorporating digital room keys. In-room concierge services are becoming a guest’s direct line to the front desk and the outside world. Touch-screens are popping up in hotel rooms that let the guest control elements in their room, as well as browse all the additional services and order room service. In addition to basic control and information functions, these interfaces are prime real estate for the hotel to engage their guests and provide yet another layer of engagement. Want another towel or pillow? Push a button. Dinner or show reservations? Just a couple taps and it’s done.

The challenge hoteliers face is that they need to focus on providing holistic solutions that can organically grow based on the evolution of a rapidly growing market. Focusing on a systematic approach to adopt technology and embrace their guests in a manner that they expect is more than installing the latest and greatest “gadget”. It’s about a commitment to an underlying eco-system that enables growth as an extension of their technology investment — not something that has a very limited shelf life and has to be replaced in time to allow the adoption of new technologies.

Last year, the industry was abuzz over the Apple Watch and Google Glass. With a simple flick of the wrist, guests can view third-party applications from hotels, confirm their reservations, check the weather and more. Customers will also be able to tweet about their experience at a hotel or write about it on TripAdvisor right from the watch. Now that Apple Pay is becoming more ubiquitous, hoteliers should expect bookings from smartphones and smartwatches to increase as customers can store their payment information right in the app. As the application eco-system for wearable products continues to grow, the interaction with the guest pre, during, and post stay will mature. Guests will be able to not only control and interact with their room but will allow for them to continue to customize their experience.

With all the devices and sensors that are continuously coming to market, we are still approaching the Tipping Point. We’re not there yet. As we look to implement these technologies in innovative and mindful ways, we all know we are just at the beginning of a truly connected world.

Remember the iPhone wasn’t the first smartphone, the iPad wasn’t the first PDA/Tablet. However, they were the first ones to change the way people lived and worked. Thus, crossing the Tipping Point, from cool technology to an integral part of people’s lives.

As more and more of us live in connected world and technology continues to enhance the way we live, people will expect those experiences to come with them when they’re at work, home or traveling. That will present challenges to companies that try to react to what is directly in front of them and not committed to embracing the journey. By next year, hotels and homes will be smarter than ever. I’m looking forward to being a part of that innovation as it unfolds.

Originally published at insights.wired.com.

I was the  SVP of User Experience, Innovation & Product Strategy of Evolve Controls @ the time of this article.