Roadside Hospitality

Reviving Roadside Hospitality

Hotelier Vasyl Grogol looks to bring the beauty of US road trips back to life.

Having shaken up Kyiv’s hospitality scene with Bursa, a Design Hotels member that is both a place to sleep and a hang-out for the city’s creatives, Vasyl Grogol is now on a mission to revive roadside hospitality in the US.

The forward-thinking entrepreneur – whose project in the Ukrainian capital takes inspiration from the bohemian vibe of New York’s Hotel Chelsea – is hoping to reinvent the outdated motel with a stylish, affordable and tech-enabled chain that can be rolled out nationwide. “Our goal is to disrupt the status quo of the motel industry and bring the beauty of US road trips back to life,” he explains. “Motels today are often housed in ugly buildings that have no soul or character; they don’t offer the basic principles of hospitality such as comfort, safety and cleanliness. We will change that.”

In doing so, Grogol is developing a system that is both physical and digital. The concept is based around a kit-of-parts – prefabricated pods that serve as accommodation, retail, a day spa or a business lounge – enabling developers to select components according to their requirements. “The units are like Lego blocks that can be put together in different ways depending on the location and requirements of the site,” Grogol confirms. “They will be prefabricated using passive technology, so will meet the highest standards of energy efficiency.”

On the digital side, the Internet of Things will be integrated throughout, with the entire motel operated remotely at the group’s headquarters. In practice, this will mean guests can checkin online, enter their accommodation using a mobile key and speak to an online concierge via video, while food and drink can be purchased from vending machines or sourced locally via a food delivery app. “The operating model will be digitalised to a level where travellers don’t feel the technology is dominating the experience, but rather benefitting it,” concludes Grogol.

In all, the concept looks set to make crosscountry road trips all the more enjoyable.