Hotel staffed mainly by robots to open in Japan
A new hotel soon to open in Japan will be staffed predominantly by robots in a move to keep operating costs down and room rates low.
The Hen-na Hotel, which loosely translates as ‘strange hotel’ will be open at Huis Ten Bosch theme park outside Nagasaki this summer and will be the world’s first deploying humanoid androids.
The female uniformed robots will have human mannerisms and the ability to speak Japanese, Chinese, Korean and English.
They will man the check in desk, clean rooms and serve meals in the restaurant.
The hotel operator says its aim is to keep operating costs down and showcase its technological advances.
Other advanced technology used in the 72-room hotel includes facial recognition entry for guestrooms.
Due to the fact that androids don’t require a salary, a night at the hotel costs about £39 a night around a third of the price of other hotels at the theme park.
The robot workforce will be supplemented by 10 human members of staff.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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