First Robot Hotel Chain Will Indeed Make You Feel Like A VIP—As Humans Are Rarer

Image via Henn na Hotel

The robot overlords are eating humble pie at Henn na Hotel in Japan, named by the Guinness World Records as the first robot-staffed hotel.

Here, multilingual humanoids man the desk, though forward-looking dinosaur bots aren’t turned away from the recruitment process. Smaller machines reside in rooms to wait on guests hand and foot.

Image via Henn na Hotel

“Henn na” means strange in Japanese, though Uniq Hotels also points out that an alternative translation of henn is “to change,” representing the company’s continuous ambition to defy norms to introduce new standards of comfort.

Image via Henn na Hotel

Image via Henn na Hotel

The first of this chain opened in Nagasaki in 2015, but the novelty once again captured the internet’s attention after a TikTok video by Japan-focused blogger Allstar Steven made its rounds. Since the first location, nearly two dozen Henn na Hotels have launched, including one in New York.

@allstarsteven

Robots shouldn’t be allowed to have synthetic skin 😳 #tiktokjapan #japantiktok #japan #tokyo #japanlife #hotel

♬ Blade Runner 2049 - Synthwave Goose

Although automation has proven itself as a helpful supporting role for day-to-day tasks, the fear that artificial intelligence may one day replace the human workforce hasn’t gone away. Critics can rest easy for now, as—in spite of its lofty dreams—Henn na Hotel is a testament that the human touch is irreplaceable, at least in the service industry.

In 2019, Business Insider reported that the original Nagasaki branch was forced to “fire” half of its 243 robot workers following complaints by both guests and human personnel.

Coworkers lamented then that the bots were doing more harm than good as front desk assistants struggled to address basic questions. Furthermore, human staff also had to work overtime to repair malfunctioning machines. This frequent upkeep didn’t do favors for the hotel’s finances, either.

Meanwhile, guests grumbled about in-room robots that mistakenly perceived snores as calls for assistance and disrupted their sleep.

But change is always uncomfortable, whether fueled by well intentions or not. According to Henn na Hotel owner H.I.S., the hotel came into fruition to help solve a labor shortage predicted to exacerbate during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The chain has continued to expand its reach, which indicates that Henn na has done something right. Its farthest offshoot in midtown Manhattan is overseen by a T-rex, who ferociously greets guests in the main lobby as “animatronic people and even dinosaurs” check them in.

[via Boing Boing, Hotel Management, Uniq Hotels, images via Henn na Hotel]