There are robots and there are robots! We stay up to date, currently, the robots in hotels carry out simple functions, some guest facing, others making back of house more efficient. I love all this crazy stuff and stay at the forefront, if you want to know more, give me a call, if it’s just a “chat” more than happy to share my knowledge, if you are serious about getting a robot into your property, I can help with that too.
Robots are already commonplace from car manufacturing plants to inside your house doing the vacuuming. They are also making waves in hospitality, from greeting guests to delivering room service and yes, vacuuming the floors and scrubbing hard surfaces.
I often get asked “Are Robots Appropriate in a 5 Star Property”
I feel yes, so do the team at TheStar with Wait Robots offering drinks nad canapes to the high rollers.
Like many things, it is not one size fits all, there are many types of robots that can perform or assist with many functions within a hotel. As a rule, robots are best deployed working along side staff. The robots focus on the mundane, the team members focus on the value add.
At Sheraton Grand on the Park, we have a robot taking food from the kitchen to the bar team members. The team in turn deliver to the guests. This has addressed a problem that was occurring where the team members were in the kitchen collecting food and leaving the bar unattended.
Now the bar is attended, freshly prepared food is promptly delivered to guests by professional team members.
Yes, these type of “wait robots” can deliver food to the guests but in this case, the team felt the robot delivering to the team was the most appropriate solution. Of course, the robot also returned the used kitchenware to the kitchen.
There are many scenarios where robots can assist hoteliers with a focus on improving the guest experience and increasing operational efficiency.
We work with many suppliers and can help you navigate the options and see which type of robot or robots will deliver the best results for your property.
A: These days there are 3 types of robots commonly found in hotels;
1) Food Service robots – they are used in restaurants and can bring food from the kitchen to a “workstation” for staff to collect or directly to diners. In hotels, wait staff usually take food from the Food Delivery Robot and present it to their diners.
2) Butler or Room Service Robots – they are used to deliver items to guests in their rooms such as Room Service or Housekeeping supplies like an extra towel.
3) Vacuuming / Floor Polishing Robots – they are used to vacuum / polish large areas such as function rooms, lobby’s, corridors
A: Yes, when deployed the right way, robots are suited to a 5 Star hotel. Here are some examples. The Star Casino has a “Waiter Robot” in the High Roller area offering drinks and canapes. Sheraton Grand on the Park has a robot delivering food from the kitchen to bar staff who in turn present food to guests. This has mean that bar attendants can stay at the bar and focus on their guests. There are also vacuum and floor polishing robots in many prestigious properties.
A: Yes, you can lease a Robot or purchase it outright. The choice is yours.
A: The best “demo” is seeing a robot in action and I can organise a site visit. Please call +61 2 8317 4000 and I will organise a site visit at a convenient location for you.
