A hotel run almost entirely by robots is expanding internationally
The Bob Pritchard Byte
In Sasebo, Japan, a hotel run almost entirely by robots has been so successful in the last two years that owners are to open 100 more locations. The initial aptly named Weird Hotel is part of an amusement park but business has been so good that they plan to expand internationally within the next five years.
The huge saving in labor cost keeps the hotel affordable. They plan to add 1,000 more similar hotels in the future with robots making up 90% of the total staff.
The huge saving in labor cost keeps the hotel affordable. They plan to add 1,000 more similar hotels in the future with robots making up 90% of the total staff.
Having robots in charge throughout the hotel makes it the most efficient hotel in the world. To check in, arriving guests can either talk with a humanoid robot who speaks Japanese or a dinosaur who speaks English. To make sure no one steals the prehistoric receptionist — or any other robot — humans are also on staff as security, making beds and monitoring the hotel at all times.
Apart from the life-sized dinosaur in the lobby there is a roving recycling bin for guests to keep the hotel tidy.
The hotel staff waits patiently for guests to complete the check-in process. (They have to. They are robots.) Floor robots, also becoming very popular in Japanese airports to assist weaker travelers, carry guests’ luggage to their rooms. Guests can leave their luggage in a cloak room, manned by a cloak room robot who can store unused luggage until checkout.
Each room comes stocked with Tuly, a hotel concierge robot that can help guests find nearby restaurants, recommend events, can control room temperature, change channels on the TV and answer any other question you may have.
For just $80, the general public can spend a night with the dinosaurs and the robots.
No one thought a supermarket could be run entirely by robots and AI until Amazon Go, then insurance companies came along, autonomous public transportation and now the hospitality industry is joining the long list.
We’re going to become caretakers for the robots. That’s what the next generation of work is going to be. Let’s not kid ourselves here, robots already run most of our world. We’ll be their butlers soon enough
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