AI and smart gadgets move into China’s guest rooms
Responding to the voice command “I’m going to sleep”, the curtain silently closes and all the lights are extinguished automatically. A few minutes after a guest asks a high-tech device in his room “I’d like three bottles of water” a waiter knocks on his door.
These gadgets are just some of the examples of the cutting-edge technologies that are currently changing and shaping the hospitality experiences for guests nationwide.
Forget automatic driving and real-time translation, artificial intelligence technology is knocking on the doors of China’s hotel sector and is set to move right in.
Global hospitality company InterContinental Hotels & Resorts announced on Wednesday that it was rolling out 100 so-called intelligent suites across the country by the end of 2018, aiming to improve operational efficiency and the user experience of its clientele.
Each suite will be equipped with a small robot called Xiaodu, developed by domestic internet giant Baidu. It can help to search for the weather and news, play music and movies, control lights, curtains and air conditioners, order food and ask the front desk to deliver other goodies.
Wang Lin, marketing vice-president of InterContinental Hotels Group’s China operations, says when living in an unfamiliar space, guests may encounter some niggling things that seem beyond their immediate control.
“For instance, guests may feel confused about problems such as why there is always a light that can’t be switched off. But with AI technology, all you need do is just to say ‘Turn off the reading lamp’,” she said.
“Technology brings with it a lifestyle featuring high efficiency.”
The human-computer interactive experience, according to Wang, will also attract more young customers, who are particularly enthusiastic about technology, and pave the way for a new level of modernization and consumer satisfaction.
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts has 197 hotels in more than 65 countries.
These AI-themed rooms are already available at the InterContinental Beijing Sanlitun and InterContinental Guangzhou Exhibition Center.
More will be launched in firsttier cities and major second-tier cities such as Chengdu.
The feedback from customers will be collected to help optimize functions in the AI rooms. To protect their privacy, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts will wipe information in the AI devices once the customers check out, according to the company.
The hospitality group is not the only one to come up with the idea of developing intelligent guest rooms. Amazon announced last month it would supply intelligent devices to Marriott International’s rooms in the future.
Wang Haifeng, who works at Baidu’s DuerOS conversational AI system, says more is on the way.
He said deals to supply other hotels, such as BTG Homeinns Hotels Group and Huazhu Hotels Group, are also in the pipeline.
AI can replace human resources in repetitive work so reduce labor costs and improve operational efficiency in hotels, Wang added.
“For example, during the peak time from 12 pm to 2 pm when guests check in and out, the front desk staff may be too busy to answer phones,” he said.
“In that case, AI can tell them the demands of guests by showing the information on the computer.”