Hospitality Design - October 2009 - 77

Above and right: Various options for WATG’s Bucket List, which includes an innovative pod system to allow baby boomers to backpack without the hassle. WATG Seattle team sought ways to provide hassle-free, ecofriendly, adventure travel for a target audience too affluent and too mature to find backpacking all that appealing. Aimed at attracting avid baby boomer travelers, WATG accommodations); presidential suites (each occupying an entire car); a cyber café and business center; sundry shop; galley; restaurant; bar and lounge; observation car; and spa/meditation space. Unlike brick-and-mortar properties and cruise ships, Zephyr Resort can alter its room count by adding or subtracting traincars; those off-line can be renovated without guest inconvenience or significant revenue loss. Beyond harnessing alternative energy sources (biodiesel, wind, solar) and regenerative energy (say, from braking), the Cagley & Tanner team explored other ways their rolling hotel could be environmentally sensitive. Guest quarters are outfitted with sustainable materials and technologies that allow occupants to monitor their water consumption. (Yes, they will be billed accordingly.) Greywater will be recycled, as will rubbish. Provisions such as food will be locally sourced at each stop. Guests may choose Zephyr’s alternative transportation to traverse their daytime destinations, further minimizing their carbon footprint. The team paid attention to details that render limited space luxurious. For example, 135-square-foot guestrooms have full-height windows and full bathrooms. “We wanted to make a small space feel less constricted,” says Cagley. “We’re returning in a modern way to the golden age of train travel.” imagined innovation in two areas: the guest-centric, high-tech travel trunk, a pack-it-once personal wardrobe and mobile office with charging station and laptop safe, handled and shipped according to your Bucket List itinerary; and the modular, portable, go-anywhere Bucket List Lodge (BLL), made up of kits sized to equal freight containers for ease of transport and minimal environmental impact. Specifically, a BLL location includes 10 to 15 bungalows (at 416 square feet, each requires several containers); community lounge area; dining; catering; service pod; transportation pod; and self-contained water, power, and waste tanks. Modules open during peak demand, and are stored locally in the off-season. For its inaugural year, Bucket List flagship destinations would include six of the world’s seven wonders: the Geiranger Fjord; the Grand Canyon; the Himalayas; the Great Barrier Reef; the Serengeti; and the Amazon. Featured sites include: Stonehenge; Iguazu Falls; Denali National Park; and Easter Island. Notes Cynthia Jacobs, WATG vice president and managing director, “While we’ve seen modular pods in the industry for quite some time, Bucket List was all about packaging it, making it viable economically and environmentally.” Honorable Mention: Cliff Hanger Just seeing the architectural renderings of Cliff Hanger is enough to get the adrenaline flowing. Imagine the rush from being suspended in space— cliffside in the Grand Canyon, or underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, or in an ice fissure in the Andes. That’s the radical thought behind this Honorable Mention: Bucket List Taking a cue from The Bucket List, a film scripted around two baby boomers’ to-do list of life experiences before “kicking the bucket,” a www.hdmag.com October 2009

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - October 2009