Robots are already commonplace in car manufacturing plants and now in our homes doing the vacuuming. They are also making waves in hospitality, from greeting guests to delivering room service.
Are they a good thing to help out with staff shortages or are they going to take the human touch out of hospitality?
The role of robots is to help your team by performing repetitive & mundane tasks, freeing them up to focus on more personal interactions with guests, thereby offering true hospitality.
Robots have the potential to play a role in several areas of hotel operations;
- Housekeeping: vacuuming and scrubber robots. We are talking industrial, not domestic. Can cover the lobby & public areas, function areas and guest floors corridors. They can even be programmed to “fluff up” worn areas or carpet and push down unworn areas so overall, the carpet looks uniform and in better condition. As they are so efficient, they bring up a lot more dirt than standard vacuuming and after several weeks, most hoteliers report that carpets look noticeably newer and cleaner.
- Food & Beverage: Already in Australia there are many robots delivering food in restaurants to diners – often accompanied by professional wait staff. In 5 star hotels we are seeing robots take food from the kitchen to waitstaff as well as returning items cleared from the table to the kitchen. This can increase service & kitchen efficiency and improve the quality of the guest experience, whilst also ensuring the restaurant is fully manned with human staff for interaction with guests. Tables can also be tuned over quicker.
- Butler & Room Service: Robots can be used to deliver food, drinks, and other items such as additional towels to guest rooms. It’s fun for the guest and it takes the pressure off the staff. The robots can make multiple deliveries on one “run” with several compartments each ”locked” until unlocked by the appropriate guest.
In summary, robots work alongside your team to alleviate tasks so they can focus on higher end responsibilities, resulting in efficiency, employee and customer satisfaction, streamlined operations, and reduced employee turnover.
We work with many suppliers and can help you navigate the options to see which type of robot or robots will deliver the best results for your property.
Contact Details
Brendon Granger
Brendon@Technology4Hotels.com.au
PH + 61 2 8317 4000
Mob: 0422 236 236