- 07/16/2015
- 02/25/2021
Japan’s First Robot Manned Hotel
At Japan’s Weird Hotel, receptionists, porters, concierge are all robots to save labor costs By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer Check out the Photo Gallery: http://www.wral.com/business/image/14774321/?ref_id=14774320 SASEBO, JAPAN ? From the receptionist that does the check-in and check-out to the porter that’s an automated trolley taking luggage up to the room, this hotel in southwestern Japan, aptly called Weird Hotel, is “manned” almost totally by robots to save labor costs. Hideo Sawada, who runs the hotel as part of an amusement park, insists using robots is not a gimmick, but a serious effort to utilize technology and achieve efficiency. The receptionist robot that speaks in English is a vicious-looking dinosaur, and the one that speaks Japanese is a female humanoid with blinking lashes. “If you want to check in, push one,” the dinosaur says. The visitor still has to punch a button on the desk, and type in information on a touch panel screen. Henn na Hotel, as it is called in Japanese, was shown to reporters Wednesday, complete with robot demonstrations, ahead of its opening to the public Friday. Another feature of the hotel is the use of facial recognition technology, instead of the standard electronic keys, by registering […]