This week I want to focus on an emerging tech-forward hospitality company that is pushing the envelope of innovation. Most of its technological developments service its own unique needs in a market that has yet to emerge. But several of its core technologies could well be applicable in mainstream hotels. My crystal ball is not clear enough to say which ones, how soon, or who will find success with them, but to me they are well worth watching.

The company, Ocean Builders, has completed a first prototype of a unique hotel experience. It is now ramping up to start deployment while continuing to refine the product. The basic concept is self-contained hotel pods, called SeaPods. Each pod has one guest accommodation unit, which sits above an anchored, floating underwater base in a body of water. The accommodation pod rests on a vertical column, well above the water, and includes a kitchen, bath, bedroom, and living area (see photo).  It reminds me of the Skypad Apartments that George Jetson and his family lived in in the 1960s TV cartoon show, but it’s a single-unit version designed to serve as a luxury hotel unit on the water.