Could robot hotels be in our future? In Nagasaki, Japan, the future arrived last year and is planning to clone itself exponentially.
The Henn na Hotel, staffed by 140 robots (and a half dozen “flesh and bloods” like you and me), takes care of guests’ needs from check in to check out via robotic assistance.
Maybe you’ve done self-check-in on your laptop at a Marriott or even used your smartphone to open your room door at a Hilton. In several California hotels, robot butlers have been working the hallways to deliver extra towels and amenities. But the Henn na Hotel is taking tech to a whole new level.
A variety of news sources, including The Japan Times, featured details of this maverick hotel that hopes to build 1,000 more worldwide. There’s a robot that looks like a dinosaur in a little concierge cap at the front desk, lending credence to hotel’s name, which translates to “strange.” If you can pay your parking garage ticket at a machine, you can probably check in to this robot hotel, too, which offers the service in English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.
After a little programming, slow-moving luggage carriers tote guests’ bags to their rooms. And as for keys, those have been replaced with facial recognition software. The Nagasaki hotel is located near a theme park and draws a steady stream of guests who are up for something unique. Including the T-Rex.
Ready to make a reservation? There’s more. The robot in your room won’t be spying, per se, but it will be there for you. Need to turn on the TV? Just say so out loud to the little round robot friend perched on the table. The room feeling a little warm? No problem. Radiation panels will detect body heat and adjust the thermostat accordingly. Everywhere guests look, robotic machines are hard at work: quietly vacuuming, cleaning the windows, and cutting the grass.
Forgot to turn off the light when you left? Don’t worry. Robot’s got your back.
Your next hotel stay could be enhanced by technology. We’ll let you know when the robots take over…
