Luxury Hotels Launch Humanoid Robots

More than a lobby fixture, Pepper is completely integrated into the hotel team, and acts as a colleague. Endearing and surprising, with large expressive eyes and lifelike movements and gestures, the four-foot (1.2-metre) tall Pepper can discern a guest’s gender, approximate age and mood. Interacting in natural and intuitive ways, Pepper provides personalized communication by detecting facial, body and voice cues. It can provide answers to property-specific questions, give directions, tell stories, dance and even pose for a selfie. Pepper adds a whole new layer of exceptional and friendly service to the hotel’s triple five-star status. In a city dominated by the latest and greatest, Pepper is the newest attraction and enhancement in the Entertainment Capital of the World.

Committed to exceeding guests’ expectations through exceptional levels of hospitality, while maintaining its position as an innovative leader in the hotel industry, Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas consistently seeks new opportunities to enhance the guest experience. Pepper exemplifies this pledge, combining innovation with welcoming, personalized service. For reservations at Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas visit www.mandarinoriental.com.

Hotel Jen Welcomes Newest Colleagues Jeno And Jena - The First Relay Robots in an International Hotel in Asia

Hotel Jen welcomes its newest mobile and automated colleagues, Jeno and Jena, as the first international hotel brand to use autonomous Relay robots in Asia. Jeno and Jena will independently zip around Hotel Jen Orchardgateway and Hotel Jen Tanglin Singapore to deliver amenities and room service to guests.

Both Jeno and Jena are one-meter (about three feet) tall and are unmistakable in their bright Hotel Jen turquoise and pink uniforms featuring a signature bicycle image to evoke a sense of travel. Inspired by the concept of a butler, Toby Tan (@tobyato) from the art community Band of Doodlers designed a jacket and tie for Jeno and a scarf for Jena.

Jeno and Jena can move unmanned around the hotel at a safe speed of 2.5 kilometers per hour (about 1.5 miles per hour), about half the average human walking speed. They can ride elevators, make phone calls to rooms upon arrival, and are equipped with sensors that know to avoid obstacles in its path and make deliveries efficiently.

Both automated colleagues are integrated with a software system that can easily track their to-do list once an order is placed. If a guest orders an extra towel or bottle of water, the guest can expect one of the pair to deliver the items within 15 minutes from the time of request. Jeno and Jena can ease midnight hunger pangs with a supper menu featuring local flavors from midnight to 6 a.m.

How they work:

- Jeno and Jena are stationed in the hotel lobby on standby 24/7 to carry out deliveries.
- Guests can request for amenities or room service from the supper menu by telephoning the hotel’s front office.
- Upon receiving an order, the requested amenity, food item or drink is prepared and placed in the robot’s compartment.
- A hotel colleague unlocks the robot’s compartment with a pin number, places the items inside, and keys in the guest’s room number for delivery.
- Once the room number is keyed in, the robot travels to the hotel’s elevator landing, enters the elevator and travels to the correct floor and room.
- Once the robot arrives at the designated room, the robot calls the room to alert the guest about the delivery. When the guest opens the room door, the robot’s compartment lid automatically opens. (After arrival, the robot waits five minutes before returning to the duty manager in the lobby.)
- When a delivery is completed, the guest presses “All Set” and can rate the stay experience from one to five stars. If the guest selects five stars, the robot displays “Yay!” and dances side-to-side in excitement.
- Once the delivery is complete, the robot returns to the docking station in the lobby.

Created by Savioke, Relay is the first fully-autonomous delivery robot that has been deployed in over 70 dynamic busy environments including hotels, office buildings, and high rise apartments. Using advanced technology to navigate around people and objects, Relay delivers items quickly, safely, and reliably. Since initial commercial deployment in 2014, Relay robots have made over 150,000 autonomous deliveries.

Catering to urban adventurers, the Hotel Jen brand delivers quality, comfort and value with a playful twist and friendly service. Hotel Jen embraces the love for life and travel, helping curious travelers to leave boring behind through spontaneous experiences, unpublished insights and unconventional perspectives. Launched in 2014, Hotel Jen offers 10 vibrant hotels in some of the best locations across Asia Pacific, including Singapore; Hong Kong; Beijing and Shenyang, China; Manila; Penang and Johor in Malaysia; Brisbane, Australia; and Malé, Maldives. Hotel Jen is slated to open in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia in 2019. For more information, visit www.hoteljen.com