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Will Covid-19 speed up the use of robots to replace concierges or bellhops in hotels ?
At this front desk of this upmarket hotel in Johannesburg, this lady comes face-to-interface with a multi-coloured humanoid robot a rarity in any hotel.
Three robots navigate the corridors of the 453-room upmarket Hotel Sky, answering guests queries and delivering room service orders. Put in place before the pandemic, the hotel has embraced the new technology even more than it had originally inteded, as a way to help reduce the risk of infection by Covid-19 in a country that has recorded nearly 45,000 deaths.
Putting on a brave face in the thick of the pandemic, the hotel opened last November even as the hospitality industry was buckling under virus restrictions and curfews.
A hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa, is employing an unconventional hospitality staff to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Three robots help the regular staff at Hotel Sky take care of guest requests and deliveries.
South Africa’s Johannesburg hotel embraces virus-free robots
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The lobby of an upmarket hotel in Johannesburg’s affluent Sandton district is eerily deserted, with not a concierge or bellhop in sight.
Jane May, who has just received her key card at the front desk, comes face-to-interface with a multi-coloured humanoid robot a rarity in any hotel, but what is believed to be a first in Africa.
“Welcome to Hotel Sky,” the robot intones. “I am not a person, I am a virtual agent. You can ask me a question.”
Three robots ride the elevators and navigate the corridors of the 453-room hotel, carrying luggage or delivering room service orders.
20 January 2021 Hotel Sky, in the heart of Sandton, has many reasons that guests would visit, from the amazing backdrops all around the hotel, to great food and entertainment, or its newly-hired AI employees, Micah, Lexi and Ariel. Image: 123RF.COM
Hotel Sky, in the heart of Sandton, has many reasons that guests would visit, from the amazing backdrops all around the hotel, to great food and entertainment, or its newly-hired AI employees, Micah, Lexi and Ariel.
The three robots in the hotel are designed to help the human staff. They are able to assist with things like food delivery, entertainment and basic questions asked by guests that the concierge would generally know.