Excerpt from USATODAY

Rose, an AI bot, uses informal speech to talk about her favorite things around town. She presents herself as a resident, recommending the closest restaurants still taking reservations.

Hotels that promise a futuristic experience are once again enlisting robots as their newest employees. It’s chic and cutting edge, but history shows that it doesn’t always translate to a warm welcome.

Hotels are often a traveler’s first impression of a new place. They are the guides to attractions and the experts on local restaurants. They play a vital role in a city’s growth, but much of it relies on personable interactions and recommendations.

With the help of marketers and local businesses to develop personalized messaging, hoteliers have an opportunity to expand their reach by using artificial intelligence to be a city’s most important person: the local.

AI concierges have reentered the scene since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as a contactless alternative to typical hotel stays. The American Hotel and Lodging Association released a study in 2020 that showed 85% of travelers were more comfortable with using technology to reduce direct contact with hotel staff.

That meant hoteliers could extend a robot’s role beyond delivering food and drinks and could experiment with more human-like interactions. But the only way this was achievable was by shifting the focus from visual novelty to a focus on conversations that feel genuine.

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by USATODAY | HNR Hotel News