Tourist disturbed by automated hotel check-ins as robots respond conversationally: "Avert your gaze from me"
In the heart of Tokyo, a unique hospitality experience awaits guests at the Henn na Hotel, a chain known for its humanoid and dinosaur robots serving as hosts. Recently, a tourist named Manu had an encounter with these robots during her stay, an experience she found extremely unsettling.
Manu, who goes by @manuenalemania on TikTok, shared a video of her check-in, which quickly garnered over 845,000 views. The video captured the robots greeting her, scanning her passport at an automated kiosk, and declaring that she would have a delightful stay at the hotel. Despite the robots' polite demeanour, Manu expressed her fear by exclaiming "Ay noooooooo!" upon their actions.
While some commenters found the robots' service impressive, noting that they did not treat the tourist badly, others were creeped out by the check-in droids. Comparisons were drawn between the robots and characters from "Blade Runner" and "Black Mirror", reflecting a mix of fascination and unease.
The Henn na Hotel, which translates to "strange" in Japanese, opened its first branch in Nagasaki with the goal of revolutionising the hospitality industry. Today, there are over 20 branches, featuring interactive holograms and RoBoHoN, a mobile robot assistant. However, the integration of AI has not been without its challenges.
Limited robot functionality and reliability have been noted as key issues. Guests have reported that robot receptionists and other AI systems sometimes fail to perform their tasks adequately, leading to disappointing experiences at check-in and other service points. To address these concerns, Henna has hired more human employees to handle emergencies or technical problems that robots cannot resolve reliably.
Moreover, the emotional and interpersonal interaction gaps are a significant challenge. Research suggests that customers value emotional connection and human touch, something robots struggle to replicate effectively. This impacts guest satisfaction and the perceived quality of service.
Due to operational challenges, certain Henn na Hotel locations have reduced the number of robots in active use and increased human staff presence to maintain service standards. This hybrid model, where robots assist but do not fully replace humans, seems to be the way forward for the pioneering hotel chain.
As the world continues to embrace automation, the Henn na Hotel serves as a fascinating case study, showcasing the potential of AI in hospitality while highlighting the importance of human interaction in creating a memorable guest experience.
- Manu, who was initially fascinated by the advances in technology displayed at the Henn na Hotel, later found herself at odds with the smart-home devices and gadgets, expressing her fear during check-in.
- The integration of artificial intelligence in the Henn na Hotel's operations, though designed to revolutionize the hospitality industry, has faced issues such as limited functionality and inability to replicate human emotional interaction effectively, thereby impacting guest satisfaction.
