Rolf noticed one thing
Some things may not exactly scream ‘high-quality engineering’, but they do demonstrate thinking like an engineer.

Hotel breakfast buffets? I’m not a fan. I’d much rather have two freshly cooked eggs than ones that’ve been sitting under a heat lamp for a while.

The worst of it?

Vending machines that dispense factory-made orange juice. You know there’s a five-litre industrial plastic bag hanging somewhere inside that machine. Press a button, wait, and invariably end up with just a little less than you actually wanted. It doesn’t feel posh.

Hotels with lovely carafes are much nicer. Pouring your own glass, no buttons, no vending machine. Of course, I realise that’s less practical for a hotel. Someone has to keep an eye on when a carafe runs empty and replace it promptly. Hospitality staff are already in short supply and certainly not cheap. Still, it feels like an investment that’s fitting for a breakfast you’re paying a hefty price for.

So I was delighted when, last month at the Mennorode conference hotel in the Veluwe, I saw a row of lovely carafes. I poured the last bit of juice into my glass, put the carafe back and automatically glanced around. Could I give a member of staff a nudge to let them know it was empty?

As I looked around, I heard the soft sound of liquid flowing beside me. From the little wooden cupboard above the carafes, a thin stream of juice was flowing into the carafe. It stopped filling just before it was about to overflow. The holder beneath the carafe turned out to be a set of scales. The cupboard presumably contained the same industrial bag of gravy as the vending machine with the button.

Did I feel cheated?

Not really. If a member of staff had filled the carafe in the kitchen, it would have come from exactly the same bag. This is more like the best of both worlds. The guest experiences the pleasure of pouring their own drink, whilst the hotel doesn’t need to keep anyone on hand to constantly top up the carafes.

Engineers are good at optimising processes. But sometimes we optimise exactly the wrong thing. A machine that pours exactly the right amount of gravy at the touch of a button is technically impressive, but it lacks something essential: how it feels to use it. This solution, on the other hand, optimises precisely that experience. The technology fades into the background, leaving only the sense of hospitality.

Although one in ten guests – or one in five, if they use glasses of my size – will still figure out how it works. And then write a column about it.

PS: I also believe that electric bikes should be classified as mopeds.

Rolf Hut is an associate professor at Delft University of Technology, a creator, speaker and writer.