A Starwood Hotels & Resorts property in California is breaking new ground by employing the services of a robotic butler.
Called A.L.O. the robotic butler – also known as a Botlr – will assist the human staff at Aloft Cupertino in delivering amenities to guest rooms.
‘Dressed’ in a custom shrink-wrapped, vinyl collared uniform and nametag, it can navigate its way independently around the hotel, including elevators, and accepts tweets as tips.
“As you can imagine, hiring for this particular position was a challenge as we were seeking a very specific set of automated skills, and one that could work – literally – around the clock,” said Brian McGuinness, global brand leader of Starwood’s Specialty Select Brands.
“As soon as A.L.O. entered the room, we knew it was what we were looking for. A.L.O. has the work ethic of Wall-E, the humor of Rosie from The Jetsons and reminds me of my favourite childhood robot, R2-D2. We are excited to have it join our team.”
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The robot has been developed by Savioke and is approximately three feet tall, weighing less than 100 lbs. It has a carrying capacity of 2 cubic feet, and is designed to travel at a human walking pace.
When A.L.O. arrives at the appropriate guest room, it phones the guest to announce its arrival, delivers the goods and makes its way back to the front desk. It even know when a guest opens the door via an onboard camera.
Once the door opens, A.L.O. will unlock, open its lid and provide instructions through onscreen prompts for guests to remove the item and close the lid.
A.L.O. will officially go into service on August 20 at Aloft Cupertino, with several new Botlrs to join in the upcoming months. Savioke has said it will expand its pilot program to include additional hotels early next year.
Savioke CEO Steve Cousins said: “In our early testing, all of us at Savioke have seen the look of delight on those guests who receive a room delivery from a robot.
“We’ve also seen the front desk get busy at times, and expect Botlr will be especially helpful at those times, freeing up human talent to interact with guests on a personal level.”
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