World's first virtual hotel launched in the metaverse by Millennium Hotels

COMMENT

Imagine booking a room at a hotel you can't actually visit. Sounds a little sketchy, right?

Yet, on May 5, Millennium Hotels and Resorts launched the completely virtual hotel 'M Social Decentraland' as part of the metaverse world.

The world's first metaverse hotel operated by a hospitality group, M Social Decentraland is modelled off dozens of global M Social locations. It aims to "be a place for all to gather and discover the virtual reality universe of Decentraland".

Although, you're not really gathering are you? Rather, you're sitting in your bedroom, kitchen or desk, alone, looking at the screen of a VR headset.

For those who are blissfully unaware, the 'metaverse' is basically a network of 3D virtual worlds that exist to foster social connection. While it was coined in 1992 by a sci-fi novel, it gained fame in 2021 after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg rebranded the company to Meta Platforms.

The vision, according to Zuckerberg, is to create an 'embodied internet' where people can have immersive experiences through a digital avatar. Instead of, you know, having actual experiences.

After 'arriving' at M Social Decentraland, (which is located on "prime digital land" and made up of glass with neon pink accents for a "sleek interior look"), you are greeted in the lobby by a digital concierge who takes you on a "journey of discovery through the hotel".

To reiterate, none of this actually exists.

Rather, the experience is positioned like a game with "real world hotel surprises" waiting for those who reach the top floor of the hotel.

Millennium Hotels and Resorts may be the first to run a hotel in this real-but-not-real digi-world, but as huge companies like Microsoft start investing huge money into the network, they won't be the last to buy a plot of land in the Decentraland metaverse.

After first hearing about M Social Decentraland, it doesn't seem like anything good.

At best, it appears to be the world's most pointless hotel, one I cannot imagine staying at over the option of an actual real world hotel.

At worst, it feels like yet another corporation dominating digital platforms in a battle for every single second of our attention. If customers can't constantly be in a real-world hotel, maybe they can spend hours navigating a digital one with an infantilising promise of treats when they reach the top.

Even Saurabh Prakash who is the Group Senior Vice President, Commercial for Millennium Hotels and Resorts said the metaverse presented a "myriad of opportunities" to connect with current and future customers.

The only redeeming quality real-world travellers can really benefit from is the opportunity for 3D walkthroughs ahead of travelling. As someone who has booked their fair share of disappointing rooms and suites, the chance to pop over to Melbourne or London to scout out a room does seem helpful.

But as far as experiences go, I'll take mine in the real world thanks.