Technology plays a big part in all areas of life these days, so it’s not surprising that more and more hotel guests expect technological solutions to enhance their stay.
In response - and to make processes smoother and more efficient - hotels are increasingly investing in tech like online booking systems, digital check-ins, and tablets to control functions in guestrooms.
However, one area of tech that can still give your hotel a real point of difference is robots.
You may feel that using robots (for food and room service delivery and cleaning) could be a step too far down the technological route, but research has shown that guests welcome tech that improves convenience and speed of service, while robots can even generate feelings of excitement and fun.
Unsurprisingly, young people in particular are looking for more use of tech in hotels, and it’s this demographic that’s more likely to book a stay.
According to a survey last year by NielsenIQ, commissioned by hospitality tech supplier Zonal, more than a third (37%) of 18 to 34 year-olds had visited hotels at least monthly in the preceding six months, while nearly a quarter (23%) had done so weekly - twice the average among all consumers.
What’s more, two thirds (67%) of 18 to 34 year-olds said they would be likely to stay in an unmanned or “smart” hotel, where technology handles the experience from end to end.
When asked what kinds of technology they would like to see in hotels, 77% of the 2,000 consumers questioned for the survey said in-room wireless charging ports would appeal, followed by solutions for tasks like ordering towels (72%), mobile guides to the area (65%) and in-room tablets to control room facilities (64%).
Nearly two thirds (64%) of 18 to 34 year-olds said they would be likely to order food for delivery, and while nearly half (47%) of those surveyed said they have ordered room service in a hotel, they also said it can be frustrating due to high prices, limited menus and slow service.
Clearly, improving your room service offer could be a revenue spinner, and SoftBank’s W3 room service robot can certainly help with that by speeding up service as well as bringing a touch of novelty to the experience.
Like SoftBank’s T5 tray delivery robot, the W3 is equipped with a 3D camera and a LIDAR (light detection and ranging) system, similar to the kind of technology used in self-drive cars.
It has the capability to communicate with the in-house telephone system and with lifts, enabling it to deliver room service orders autonomously to any floor.
While the W3 is mostly used for food delivery, it can also be used to transport towels, linen, an iron, or any items that the guest may have forgotten such as toiletries.
SoftBank’s tray delivery robots (aka ‘cobots’ because of their ability to work collaboratively with humans), not only help ease the load for staff but also capture guests’ attention, making your hotel restaurant stand out.
According to an analysis of online reviews by a team from the Audencia Business School in France, most consumers who encounter service robots in hotels find it a pleasant surprise.
The researchers analysed over 9,700 online reviews posted on two leading social media platforms (Ctrip and TripAdvisor) by customers who had encountered service robots across 412 hotels in eight Western and Asian countries.
They found that 61% of customers expressed a feeling of fun interacting with robots, while only 28.5% of reviewers said they felt a sense of fear when being approached by a robot server instead of a human.
Lead researcher Raffaele Filieri said: “Service robots trigger overwhelmingly positive emotions in most customers who describe robots as cool, intelligent, cute, lovely, friendly, quirky, weird, popular and playful.
“Their service is evaluated as convenient, amazing, unique, fast, and distinctive. Customers also very often comment on the robot’s service attributes or appearance. Other positive feelings highlighted by our study were amazement and surprise.”
The study also found that service robots are more successful in hotels targeting couples, or families with kids, rather than business customers.
However, business travellers were more positive about room service robots as they “liked the privacy” that a robot offered over a human.
Here at SoftBank we’ve been able to do our own little bit of analysis of reviews posted on TripAdvisor since a T5 was deployed at the Hampton by Hilton Manchester Northern Quarter in December.
The T5 is being used during breakfast service by waitress Diane Whylie, and has been nicknamed “Diane 2” by the guests.
One guest commented: “Absolutely love the breakfast clean up crew, Diane 1 (human) and Diane 2 (robot) ! The perfect duo!”.
Another said: “Diane 1 and Diane 2 were the dream team of the breakfast area, lovely lady and helpful robot - efficient but also really cool to see (kids would love Diane 2).”
Other guests were equally positive, with one posting: “My son enjoyed the robot during breakfast and kept saying hello to it”, and another saying: “We really enjoyed the robot cleaner that collected the trays and took them to the kitchen for the waitress, great fun to see. And I can imagine invaluable to the staff, as quirky and enjoyed by all that were at breakfast.”
So there you have it: if you want to stand out from the competition with your hotel tech, why not welcome a robot - or two - into your team?