Japan’s robot hotel turns to humans for good old fashioned customer service

Over half of the robots at Henn-na Hotel have been rendered jobless, with humans being hired to replace the androids after they failed to live up to standards.

According to a report from The South China Morning Post (SCMP), the hotel replaced the androids because they suffered frequent breakdowns, required costly maintenance and were unable to field more complicated questions from guests such as local attractions or access to airports.

Humans were also on stand-by every time a guest’s passport needed to be registered. In addition, robot luggage carriers were not able to reach all of the rooms in some hotels, and broke down when they got wet, while the in-room assistant Churi struggled to understand accents.

However, a company official confirmed that the chain is pushing ahead with plans to develop a new generation of robot employees and plans to open new properties across Japan, the SCMP reported.

source: TTG Asia