06/07/2022

Hotels Have Gone to the Robots

The hospitality industry has turned to A.I. to deal with labor shortages

On a typical workday at the Dream Hollywood hotel in California, Alfred waits by the front desk for marching orders. Wearing a white collar and black bow tie, Alfred springs into action when a guest requests shampoo or a phone charger, moving through the lobby to the elevator, riding up to a given floor and notifying the recipient of the delivery by phone.

That kind of service is standard for many hotel employees, but Alfred, named for Batman's loyal butler, is not just any staff member: It is one of two robots the hotel uses to serve guests and assist employees with day-to-day duties.

Vaughn Davis, the hotel’s general manager, started building an operating model based around a heavier reliance on technology in 2017, but the lingering labor shortage across the travel industry provided “an opportune time” to deploy robots in the hotel.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.