Japan to open new hotel staffed by robots
The robot revolution may be coming sooner than we thought. Japan has decided to hire new employees for a new hotel called “Henn-na Hotel” – except the new staff members aren’t actually living.
The idea of building a technologically advanced hotel spawned from the mind of Huis Ten Bosch, owner of a theme park located in Japan’s Nagasaki Prefecture. The theme park is famous for it’s amazing recreation of old Netherlands. The architectural details are said to be remarkable.
When we say they’re realistic – we can’t stretch it enough
The robots are complete with a human like body and face, and even adorn a hotel uniform. The humanistic qualities of these robots is almost scarily realistic. Each robot is uniquely programmed to perform traditional hotel hospitality tasks. They will carry your bags, clean your room, check you in, and even possess the ability to converse with you. Hopefully, these androids don’t completely eradicate the need for human employees. This hotel will open with only 10 humans on the entire staff team.
Henn-na Hotel translates to ‘Strange Hotel’
The name is a perfect suitor for exactly what this hotel is – strange. And the creators knew it from the start. We definitely don’t see human like androids asking us if we would like more orange juice everyday, only in futuristic Sci-Fi movies. This hotel is definitely on the more novel side. “I think it’s a bit weird to know that there is a hotel run by robots. I feel like they could go a bit crazy, like malfunction and take over the world or something. Although the idea is cool, I think it’s just a bit sketchy. And when I stay in a hotel, I’m not sure how I would feel about having a robot do those things, the synthetic flesh would get to me the most” said Amethyst Campbell, senior at Normal West.
Setting the futuristic scene with more technical features
Besides the robotic staff, theres a few more technical touches. The hotel will also feature a facial – recognition door unlocking system, which will replace room keys. There are holographic displays all throughout the building, and each room will have radiation panels that control heating and cooling, ensuring “ a comfortable indoor environment with no unevenness” the hotel’s website added. The panels automatically detect your body heat, and adjust room temperature as needed.
The cost will surprise you
The first 72 rooms offered for rent, along with another 72 being added next year, will cost about 7,000 yen, or 50$ per night for a single room. A twin room will be priced at 9,000 yen, or, 76$ a night. If the hotel reaches reaches it’s no vacancy limit during peak season, they will start to bid off rooms, and prices will increase to 14,000 yen, or 119$ a night – still around the average cost of a hotel room in America.
The promise of future advancement
“We plan on having over 90% of hotel services operated by robots” said company president, Hideo Sawada, during a Japan Times news report. The owner strides to make constant innovations as technology progresses. “We will make the most efficient hotel, and plan to take the business model global by opening over 1,000 similar hotels around the world.”