Designing the Future of Hospitality and Built Environments: Key Insights from VivaTech 2025
Viva Technology 2025 returned to Paris from June 11 to 14, bringing together startups, tech leaders, investors, and researchers in one dynamic space. While the event covers many sectors, this year stood out for professionals in hospitality, architecture, and building design. The focus extended beyond guest experience and travel convenience to the core technologies shaping hotel design, energy use, and sustainability.
Innovations in artificial intelligence, modular energy storage, geothermal solutions, and 3D-printed structures are influencing how hotels are built and operated. These technologies prioritize backend building performance and sustainable design alongside digital engagement.
Club Med: Combining AI with a Human Touch
Henri Giscard d’Estaing, President of Club Med, highlighted the company’s approach to AI in hospitality during the session “AI with a Human Touch.” His main point: innovation should support emotion and empathy in customer service.
Club Med’s AI platform powers tools like GM Copilot, an intelligent sales assistant using WhatsApp to manage bookings and customer queries instantly. This mobile-first solution improves guest interaction through familiar channels. On the staff side, AI tools such as GO Match optimize hiring by matching candidate skills and languages to team needs. Gentil Writer, a multilingual AI copywriting assistant, ensures consistent brand communication worldwide.
The company also leads in ethical AI use, guided by an AI Ethics Committee chaired by Sorbonne University’s Prof. Jean-Gabriel Ganascia. Their model shows how hospitality can responsibly adopt AI without losing the human element.
Smarter, More Efficient Hotels: BrainBox AI and Bouygues Group
Energy consumption and inefficiency challenge many hospitality buildings. BrainBox AI offers a deep-learning platform that autonomously manages HVAC systems to reduce energy use by up to 25% and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40%. This system can be integrated into existing hotel infrastructure, helping architects and engineers meet decarbonization goals.
Bouygues Group presented innovations in sustainable construction, including low-carbon concrete, smart materials, and site monitoring systems. Their modular building methods and adaptive infrastructure solutions support sustainable urban development, especially important for tourism areas facing environmental pressures.
Adaptive Energy Solutions: Moduly and Enerdrape
Energy independence and renewable integration are critical for hotels and commercial buildings. Moduly, a Canadian startup, showcased stackable modular batteries that store and redistribute energy, compatible with solar panels and scalable by building size. This system supports load shifting, demand response, and backup power, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and lowering electricity costs.
Enerdrape from Switzerland introduced drill-free geothermal wall panels that harvest thermal energy from underground spaces like basements or tunnels. This method is ideal for urban hotels where traditional geothermal wells are impractical. It assists in meeting energy certification standards such as LEED and HQE by utilizing underused architectural surfaces.
Intelligent Spaces and Structural Innovation: VusionGroup and MX3D
Smart building interfaces and advanced fabrication techniques are reshaping physical spaces. VusionGroup, known for AI-powered retail solutions, demonstrated how their shelf labels and real-time stock tracking can be adapted for hospitality settings like minibars and concierge desks. Their AR-based wayfinding tools hint at hotels becoming more responsive and personalized environments.
MX3D, a Dutch company pioneering robotic metal 3D printing, showed how complex structural or decorative elements can be fabricated with minimal waste. This technology opens new possibilities for custom hotel features such as balustrades, pavilions, and lobby sculptures, enhancing design freedom and efficiency.
VivaTech 2025 made clear that hospitality design is evolving from the foundation upward. From AI-enhanced booking systems to modular energy storage and innovative materials, digital intelligence and sustainable building practices are converging to redefine how hotels and cities operate.
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