Social robots have applications in hotels and hospitality ranging from greeting guests to answering their questions about local places and facilities.

Robots in Hotels and Hospitality

Hotels and Hospitality are ideal environments for social robots.

Social robots are effective as hotel receptionists. They are an efficient, novel and fun way of providing information to customers, and can add an extra dimension to customer experience.

How can robots help you in a hospitality environment? They offer a number of functions of benefit:

  • Welcoming and attracting guests in a friendly and engaging manner
  • Making reservations for accommodation and for supplementary facilities available within the hotel at additional cost
  • Booking guests in on arrival
  • Directing and / or showing guests to their rooms
  • Explaining when and where in the hotel meals can be taken and drinks can be ordered
  • Telling guests what is on the menu for mealtimes well in advance, saving time on the ordering process at the table as some guests will already have made choices
  • Informing guests about the other facilities within the hotel (e.g. sun lounge, jacuzzi, personal treatment facilities, swimming pool, games rooms): where they are located, when they are open, what they cost (if applicable) and how to book them
  • Giving people information about local facilities and things to do and see outside the hotel (e.g. restaurants, public houses, clubs, beaches, museums, tourist attractions, current local events, recommended walks)

Robots in Museums & Tourism

Outside hotels, there is a wide range of tourist attractions that can advantageously use social robots as receptionists and information providers. These include:

  • Robots in Museums - they can answer questions about exhibits and history, provide supplementarary information, tell visitors the way to different exhibits, and notify people of opening and closing times
  • Robots in Castles and Country Houses - they can tell people the way to different parts of the building and give talks and on-screen information about the room or area that they are currently in
  • Robots in Tourist Information Centres - they can quickly and efficiently answer questions and provide a very wide range of relevant local information
  • Robots in Public Parks and Gardens - they can tell people the way to different areas, provide information about the history of the park, and identify the trees, shrubs and flowers in the vicinity