Do you want to be cared for by people or robot?

I have been through several experiences, several hotel chains, different ways of business management. Only one thing has not changed in more than two decades: the people who work in the sector. However, there is already an automotive factory in the United States where there is not a single person in the operation. Everything is done by machines and robots.

Will this reach the hotel sector? It’s something to think about. In Japan, for example, this is already a reality at the Japanese Hotel Run, where you will find robot receptionists. The network has one unit in Tokyo and another in Nagazaki. The expectation is to inaugurate one hundred units in the coming years.

What sets these hotels apart is that there are 140 robots working and about seven human employees responsible for keeping them operating. Each room has a virtual assistant for the main questions of the guests and, as they are equipped with artificial intelligence, they can in the future give suggestions to visitors.

What do you think of that? Do you believe that at some point the hotel will also be taken over by robots replacing receptionists or chambermaids? In a report, which also addresses the issue of robots in hospitality,the focal point is that humans need to be so human that they will be irreplaceable.

That’s why I believe that one of our most important values in hospitality is hospitality, human interaction. It is understanding what is behind the wishes of guests to surprise them with some unusual service. This makes a difference and hardly a robot will be able to read the human complexity and subtleties of human behavior.

Humans need to be so human that they will be irreplaceable

Also, in the japanese hotel example, don’t expect the maître to prepare your dish without the pepper you requested or a pillow higher to your liking. In robotic hotels, there are only vending machines scattered throughout the corridors and you order your food directly to them, without customization.

Possibly there lies the fact that makes the hotel experience so rich. We deal daily with unique human beings, with their unique motivations, their life history, their values. There are so many differences that it is not possible to standardize the service to a single robot, however intelligent and capable it may be and probably will be in the future thanks to the learning provided by Artificial Intelligence.

In our experience with humans, we already understand only in the look if a particular guest is happy or stressed, whether he wants to talk or just check in and go to his room.

These nuances are not yet captured by robots, although there are already experiments in this sense by virtual assistants used to guide attendants about the mood of the other person on the other side of the phone.

We hoteliers walk beyond business management of business, but we will be more and more curators for our guests, promoting the personalized experience that each one dreams of. For this, we need to understand not only hospitality, but theater, culture, city shows and attractions for each person profile. That will make us irreplaceable, a true value. Think about it.