By Aldo Sciacca, Head of Product Management and R&D, ABB Smart Buildings
A hotel guest checks in without having to wait at reception. Their room is already set to the temperature and lighting settings they prefer. When the guest wants to change the settings – or listen to their favorite music – they just use a simple touchpad. It’s a seamless experience. At any hotel across the entire hotel group, the same guest can enjoy the same personalized journey from check-in to check-out. They don’t notice how well everything works – because it works effortlessly. Innovative technologies quietly elevate every aspect of their stay.
Behind the scenes, room automation controls everything from access and lighting to temperature and facilities. Building automation optimizes hotel HVAC systems, while property management and concierge services are controlled by intelligent, interoperable technologies. Through connected systems and intuitive dashboards, digitalization provides visibility across properties, with real-time data for better decision-making – while ensuring that data is handled securely, user privacy is protected, and systems remain resilient to cyber risks.
Hotels are a strong test bed for scaling up this type of innovation. Owners need to demonstrate stronger returns and greater efficiency, while sustainability is now a key concern for businesses and consumers alike. At the same time, guests increasingly expect experiences tailored to their tastes and needs. But this is not unique to hotels. From office developments to healthcare facilities, building owners, operators and developers all face the same challenge – how to make innovation work at scale.
From complexity to comprehensive insight
Adopting smart building innovation at scale is now critical to advancing operational performance, energy efficiency and occupant experience. But there are pitfalls to achieving this in one building, let alone an entire property portfolio. One common issue is investing in feature-heavy solutions. Rather than enhancing performance, these options increase complexity. In doing so, they frequently create more problems than they solve.
Technology – especially software that supports facilities management – is often built on legacy infrastructure. In the final episode of our recent Thinking Hotels LinkedIn Live series, my colleague, Lucy Han talked about “hotel silos”. This is a useful way to describe how older systems are shut off from each other and operate in isolation. A lack of real-time visibility can lead to issues going unnoticed, creating the potential for serious operational and financial risk. Adding layers of new features on top of these silos can make the situation worse.
This matters even more when you consider that around 80 percent of buildings that will exist in 2050 are already in use today. In practice, improving performance at scale means working with what is already there, not just focusing on new developments. The answer lies in modular, flexible solutions that can be built into existing infrastructure over time.
Here’s an example: a residential apartment or office block may need to integrate renewables with EV charging to manage power at the electrical distribution level. This also supports HVAC and overall energy performance across the building. A modular approach could begin with an energy management platform, such as ABB’s InSite Energy Pro. The platform allows operators to monitor and manage energy use across sites, then expand capability over time without increasing complexity.
Technologies must be able to easily integrate with third-party devices. Open standards such as KNX support both commercial and residential building automation, enabling broader connectivity and greater interoperability. This improves energy efficiency while maintaining a simple and consistent user experience. Operators can start simple and scale over time – without the need for costly replacements later.
Human-centric at every level
People should always be at the heart of smart building innovation. Solutions need to work effectively for everyone from installers and operators to maintenance teams and occupants. They must be as easy to install and maintain as they are to use. The capacity to scale up or down as required is also essential.
ABB’s scalable solutions enable electrical installers, building owners and facility and energy managers to collect and visualize their data – both on-site and remotely. This allows users to start with what they need today and expand over time as requirements evolve.
Deploying smart building innovation at scale is a long-term commitment. What works today may not meet the needs of tomorrow. Business priorities evolve. Customer expectations change. Regulatory obligations increase. Designing for adaptability is key.
Making innovation work for the long term
Building owners and operators are under increasing pressure. Net Zero targets. Rising energy costs. Increasing consumer demand for personalized, tailored spaces in which to live, stay and work. With so much to manage, the focus should be on making sure everything works together in a simple and reliable way.
In my experience, successful smart building innovation is not about complexity. It’s about coordination - making technologies work together so that buildings can perform as intended, not in just one location, but across an entire portfolio, and as needs change over time. That’s what makes buildings truly future-ready.
About the author
Aldo Sciacca
Aldo Sciacca is the R&D and Portfolio Manager at ABB Electrification’s Smart Buildings Division. In this role, he oversees innovation and strategy across a global portfolio of energy distribution and smart building technologies. With almost three decades at ABB, Aldo has held senior global leadership roles across product groups, portfolio management, R&D and corporate research. He has contributed to the development of advanced smart building solutions that improve energy efficiency, enhance sustainability and support the transition to net-zero.As a strong advocate for industry collaboration, Aldo believes technology and teamwork are key to accelerating sustainability and smart building transformation. He served as a judge for the 2022 edition of ABB’s Startup Challenge, an annual competition supporting early-stage climate tech startups developing innovative solutions for smart buildings, smart power, distribution, and sustainability. Prior to his current position, Aldo was Global Head of Energy Distribution for ABB’s Smart Buildings, where he played a key role in shaping energy distribution strategies and advancing product development. Based in Italy, Aldo holds a Master’s degree in Physics from the University of Milano and has received industry recognition for his contributions to technical innovation.
