Hotels have been using robots for awhile to deliver items to rooms.
Listen, don't talk unless you know what you're talking about. You're not simply exaggerating here, you're outright lying. And your wading into waters without the first fucking clue what flavor of fish the sharks like best. Anyone who actually knows a thing or two about running a hotel will think you sound like a damned fool!
I work in the hotel industry, and in rooms/operations field at that. You probably heard about a trial program a few months ago. There is
one Starwood brand that began a trial program a few months ago in
one of their locations to utilize a "robo butler." Depending on the success of the program there could be wider implementation across the brand this time next year. However, the program seems to not really be what one would call a success at this point. My boss used to work for Starwood and from what he's been gathering, it is still an introductory "work in progress" and nobody is yet sure if it will ever be feasible on a large scale. At least, in the reasonably foreseeable future.
So that just goes to show that you're outright lying when you try to say that this has been a common thing for some time. But moving on from that, you seem to think that this program is about reducing labor costs, and that
really shows how you don't know a damn thing about the hotel industry, or what it takes to run a hotel.
Amenity deliveries are typically handled by the housekeeping department. Everything from needing more towels, to needing a toothbrush because you forgot yours, whatever. Depending on the size of the property and structure of the housekeeping department, the individual responsible for fulfilling these tasks is usually either a houseman (responsible for property cleanliness) or turndown housekeeper (responsible for room cleanliness and, as the name suggests, providing turndown services where needed), though it could also be a laundry attendant. In some properties, security may handle these tasks.
The main thing to recognize here is that
there is no person who has the job of sitting around and waiting for you to request something be delivered to the room. When you need something delivered to your room, it's handled by someone as merely a
secondary responsibility who goes back to doing their normal job. Most of the time, there is a marginal amount of labor that is devoted to running amenities to rooms. In most instances, when a hotel has difficulty being efficient in delivering requested amenities, it's an organizational problem, not a labor problem.
The reason a program like this could be of interest to a hotel company is because modern technology has changed the kinds of expectations many customers have, and there is now a greater interest in the market for hotels to automate portions of the guest experience. After all, this is hospitality, and when you are staying in a mid to high end luxury or semi-luxury hotel, the expectation is that you shouldn't have to worry about too much. The past several years have seen many hotels struggle to keep up with these expectations because
the hotel industry requires extraordinary logistical coordination which tends to involve a substantial amount of manual attention. Fortunately, some of us are making very good progress and are finding creative ways to try to simplify certain aspects of the guest experience. We now have [seemingly] automated check-outs (which actually aren't automated, but we've found ways to make it seem that way to you). Some places have semi (apparent) automated check-ins (which tend to actually work quite horribly, you're better off without it unless you give fuckall about your actual room). Communication systems have been improving, allowing for more streamlined methods for staff to organize and communicate information.
The "robo-butler" is part of that drive to automate potions of the guest experience. The goal is to allow a guest to electronically input a request, and receive it in a timely manner, without having to spend time calling the Front Desk, waiting on hold if the FD is busy at that moment, or whatever. In reality, it saves the guest only a few seconds, but nowadays people are so tech savvy and accustomed to using smartphones and computers for communication their perception of their experience is substantially, and disproportionately, improved when we can make these options available. It also allows for a reduction in human error on the part of hotel staff, which helps to minimize guests encountering disappointments during their stay.
The over/under on using robots to deliver amenities
is not expected to deliver significant cost benefit because the robots themselves are expensive and the
actual labor cost in doing these things with people is marginal. There is little expectation that using robots will allow significant reduction in labor budgets. You still need to have the houseman around to pick up trash, sweep and mop, empty trash, etc. You still need to have a turndown housekeeper to do turndowns. You still need to have a laundry attendant to do the laundry. You still need to have security on site. But most importantly
you still need to have someone to maintain the stock of amenities and to replenish the robot. The anticipated reward is expected to be in the form of enhanced guest experiences yielding improved loyalty as well as being able to drive improved revenues by being able to command higher rates by maintaining a leading place in the industry for exceptional guest experience.
I just think people deserve a livable wage. Period.
