Gaming hotels are no longer a niche experiment. nhow Hotels & Resorts, part of Minor Hotels, has rolled out 'GAME:NXT by nhow', a Europe-wide programme that bolts a full esports-style setup onto the standard hotel stay — from dedicated gaming rooms to a console you can order to any room in a suitcase.
The concept grew out of a successful pilot at nhow Berlin, which ran five Gaming Rooms and a Gaming Studio, and has been certified by SK Gaming, the esports organisation that partners with Minor Hotels. The flagship new addition is nhow Frankfurt, where six Gaming Rooms have opened on the fourth floor. Each comes with a high-performance PC, ultra-fast connectivity, an ergonomic chair and desk, dual high-resolution screens, a mechanical keyboard and mouse, and a PlayStation 5 built into the room. Neon lighting sets the mood, and streaming gear plus VR headsets can be requested if you want to broadcast your session or go beyond flat-screen play.
For guests in rooms without the full kit, there's a portable option: the POGA Gaming Suitcase, a case containing a PS5, two controllers and an integrated screen that turns an ordinary room into a private arcade. Suitcases are available at nhow properties in Berlin and Frankfurt, plus Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, Milan, Rome and Marseille — so the offering now spans Germany, the Benelux countries, Italy and France.
There's more to come. In 2027, Minor Hotels plans Gaming Rooms at nhow Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Brussels, along with a Gaming Studio in Brussels modelled on the Berlin one — a hub intended for content creators, local esports teams and boot camps rather than just casual guests.
Why should a traveller care? If you game even casually, it solves a real problem: hotel Wi-Fi and a laptop on a wobbly desk rarely cut it for a proper session. Here you get tournament-grade hardware without lugging your own rig, and it works for different travel styles — a solo player winding down after sightseeing, friends competing on a city break, or a streamer who needs professional kit on the road. The suitcase option is the clever bit, since it means you can add gaming to a stay you've already booked at any participating nhow, not just the purpose-built rooms.
It also signals where lifestyle hotels are heading: nhow is explicitly chasing a younger, digitally native audience, and if the Berlin pilot is anything to go by, expect other chains to copy the formula. For now, Europe is the testing ground, and the properties listed above are the places to try it first.
