Welcome to Japan's Henn na Hotel, which in English translates to 'Weird Hotel'. It is the new hotel at Sasebo, Japan set to open this weekend.
There is nothing weird about this hotel, if you are used to being greeted by a dinosaur receptionist.
Hideo Sawada who manages the hotel explains, in a BBC news, that this is their effort to utilize technology and achieve efficiency. Incidentally, the hotel is rather affordable by Japanese standards, with rates starting at only $ 80 while most hotels charge twice or thrice as much.
The dinosaur in the reception desk greets the guest with, 'if you want to check in, push one'. The guest then types information into a touch screen panel. It also boasts of their facial recognition technology, where instead of room keys or cards, a guest's face is registered upon check in. and you scan your face to get inside the room.
Instead of porters, there is an automated trolley for luggage. At the lobby, the robot concierge tells you the menu of the day and events you can be part of. There is also a 'robot cloak room'. Outdoors, drones fly above, delivering snacks to guests lounging about. Inside the rooms, a robot shaped like a fat pink tulip, thus named Tuly can tell you what time it is in, the weather forecast, and can switch on and off the lights for you.
Though majority of the staff is composed of robots, human manpower still does certain functions. There are numerous video cameras monitoring the lobbies and other areas, and real people monitor these cameras. Mostly to ensure nobody takes home a robot.
Management of 'Weird Hotel' intends to have other branches around the world. It also wants its robots to speak more languages to cater to a bigger market of guests.
Japan is the world's leader in robotics. For years they have been using robots in manufacturing. In the near future, they intend to use robots for more human interaction, like taking care of the elderly.
