Is Crowdsourcing the Design for a Hotel Brilliant or Just a Gimmick?

New York City real estate company Prodigy Network is crowd-sourcing design ideas for a new hotel in the Financial District.

The goal of the crowd-sourced hotel project, unfortunately dubbed a "Cotel," is to mix design and technology to create an extended-stay hotel that better meets the needs of today's business travelers.

The hotel aims to incorporate local culture, open floor plans, and seamless connectivity. It also wants to make it easier for guests to create meaningful connections during their stay.

Prodigy will begin accepting design ideas during New York's Social Media Week starting February 20.

The real estate company is also working with website PSFK to examine work and lifestyle trends impacting business travelers in the weeks prior to the competition's launch.

This isn't Prodigy's first time crowd-sourcing design ideas and crowd-funding for a development project. It previously broke the world record in crowd-funding to build Columbia's tallest skyscraper BD Bacata.

Below is a rendering of the "cotel" currently being called 17John that will be located in New York City's Financial District.