Robots at reception, phones as room keys: The hotel of the future

HANDOUT - Anyone checking into the Henn na Hotel in Japan is greeted by a dinosaur. Or, more precisely, a Tyrannosaurus rex. Photo: Huisten Bosch/dpa-tmn - ACHTUNG: Nur zur redaktionellen Verwendung im Zusammenhang mit dem genannten Text und nur bei vollständiger Nennung des vorstehenden Credits

Set the shower temperature with your phone, pull the curtains back with your voice: The hotel branch is preparing itself for the future. 

Anyone checking into the Henn na Hotel in Japan is greeted by a dinosaur. Or, more precisely, a Tyrannosaurus rex. 

The creature shares the reception desk with another artificial dinosaur and a doll that outwardly corresponds more closely to a real hotel employee. None of them are humans – Henn na relies on robots. 

The Japanese hotel, which has made the artificial reception staff its calling card, is not alone in the industry. 

In some German hotels, robots take care of check-in, provide information for day trips or help out with room service. The Brunner Hof in the Bavarian Forest is testing the Pepper robot at its reception desk. The Schani hotel in Vienna relies on the Schanibot, which can be called by guests to provide tips for going out.

The Brunner Hof in the Bavarian Forest is testing the Pepper robot at its reception desk. — dpa

In the future, these kinds of artificial helpers may become more common in lobbies and hotel rooms around the world. 

"Digitalisation and the use of technology are currently a major driver of change in the hotel industry," explains Vanessa Borkmann, a researcher at the Fraunhofer IAO. The trained architect initiated the FutureHotel research project there over 10 years ago – and can list a whole range of things that could be found in the hotel of the future. 

These include, for example, managing hotels room by smartphone. 

Even today, more and more hotels offer an app with which guests can reserve, check in and pay. As a partner of the Fraunhofer Institute, the Schani is testing the possibility of individually selecting hotel rooms and seats on the plane in advance. 

The large hotel chains are also pushing ahead with the networking of their rooms. Marriott International has set up a test room for the internet of things in Maryland, in which yoga exercises are shown on a full body mirror, or the shower can be set to a desired temperature, which can be stored in the guest profile.

The NH Hotel Group has set up "mood rooms" in hotels in Berlin and Madrid in which various lighting concepts can be set according to a guest's mood or time of day. 

The NH Hotel Group has set up "mood rooms" in hotels in Berlin and Madrid in which various lighting concepts can be set according to a guest's mood or time of day. — NH Hotel Group/dpa

"In today's digital age, the hotel industry must not miss the boat and should even be a pioneer in trying out and offering new services and solutions," says Maarten Markus, managing director for Northern Europe at NH Hotel Group. 

However, according to Miriam Taenzer, tourism expert at the digital association Bitkom, it tends to take longer in the hotel industry than other industries for new technologies to really take hold. And even the guests don't seem quite ready for the new offers. 

In a Bitkom survey, more than half of respondents said they would not use a robot reception and check-in. The majority of respondents are also hostile to controlling lights or music with a smartphone app, or using their smartphone as a room key. 

Those who are worried that, in future, hotel rooms will only be controllable via smartphones or that they'll only encounter robots in the corridors can be reassured for the time being. According to Borkmann, offers such as a digital mirror or the operation of a hotel room via an app are primarily to be understood as extras. There will still be light switches in hotel rooms for some time to come. – dpa