How will travel operators navigate the brave new world of social distancing?

A greeting robot called Pepper waiting for guests at a hotel lobby in Tokyo, Japan. Will these robots ultimately replace a majority of the human workers in hotels? — AFP

As travel vaporises with on-off lockdowns, airlines, airports, and hotels are pondering the future of hospitality in these fluid and fearful socially distanced times. While it may appear oxymoronic, professional hosts are examining how to safely distance yet offer hospitable warmth without turning everything into a set from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

If travellers today feel journeys are an out-of-body experience surrounded by masked stewardesses – a smile only gleaned from crow’s nests crinkling eye corners – and hazmat suits, how about, perhaps, hotels of the future?