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Robotics technology may transform hospitality – but when it comes to the hotel experience, sometimes only the human touch will do

Since George Devol invented the first digitally operated and programmable robot in 1954, hoteliers the world over have been trying to replace that ridiculously expensive and unreliable cost called “personnel” with automation. Devol’s first machine, the Unimate, was installed in 1961 in a General Motors plant in Trenton, New Jersey, to lift and stack hot pieces of metal from a die-casting machine. Extraordinarily enough, the 669-room Yotel New York today uses a direct descendant of this machine in its lobby to receive guests’ luggage and store it in individual lockers. Japan’s Henn Na Hotels has also been pioneering the use of robotics. Its first property opened in Nagasaki in 2015 with robots serving all sorts of functions; the brand also has hotels in cities such as Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. No longer…

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Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Edition (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 2019

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