Marriott invites hotel guests to redecorate — using AR and a bottle of water

Hotel room artwork not to your taste? Marriott will soon allow guests to redecorate their rooms — virtually, anyway. In early December, LIFEWTR and Marriott Hotels announced a collaboration to create a new in-room augmented reality (AR) art experience. The partnership created a key from that usually boring hotel bottled water to unlock a new AR experience.

Guests can scan the LIFEWTR tag on in-room water bottles at participating locations and then open Facebook, where the AR experience takes place inside Facebook Camera. The code on the bottle unlocks an AR art gallery, allowing guests to choose and place virtual artwork in the room. As a Facebook Camera feature, guests can then snap a photo of their room with the virtual artwork to share on social media.

The AR experience uses work from 18 different LIFEWTR artists. Inside Facebook Camera, guests will also be able to re-color the virtual artwork.

“We are always looking for ways to engage and inspire our guests through innovative travel offerings, from the thoughtful design of our guest rooms to the enriching experiences we create with partners like LIFEWTR,” Matthew Carroll, Vice President, Global Brand Management for Marriott Hotels, said in a press release. “With our latest AR venture, guests can enhance their stay with us by using technology and art to spark new ways of thinking — from there, the opportunities are endless.”

The new AR experience was part of a pop-up event at The Oculus at the Westfield World Trade Center in New York. The experience is also part of Miami Art Week, which ran through December 9. Selected Marriott locations will bring the experience to guest rooms, starting with Marriott Stanton South Beach and rolling out nationwide throughout 201.

LIFEWTR, which is part of PepsiCo, will launch a new series of bottles, called Series 7, early next year with similar goals of supporting artists and bringing art to the masses. As part of the deal, LIFEWTR becomes the official in-room water for nationwide Marriott locations.

Additional details on the experience are available at www.lifewtr.com. Guests are encouraged to use the hashtag #UnlockingInspiration when sharing images of the AR experience.