By Elad Inbar
Hotels with Wi-Fi and televisions were, at one point, unimaginable for hoteliers, but as technology evolved, it became necessary for the hospitality industry to follow. Today, we are in the middle of an AI revolution — one that meets resistance from skeptics — but history has shown that early adopters of technology have kept hotels running by adapting to changing consumer needs. Clearly, new technology pays off. Recent research is showing that the robotics market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 12.29 percent in the next seven years, exceeding $225 billion in 2030. With operations being impacted by short staffing and changing priorities for consumers and employees, robotics serve to fill a gap to meet these priorities. Low season or high season, cleaning, delivery and customer service robots assist existing hotel employees and increase operational efficiency without compromising human jobs.
How We Got Here
Following the pandemic, hotels and other hospitality businesses were left with a large labor gap to fill. A survey conducted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) found that 82% of hoteliers surveyed are experiencing a staffing shortage and 87% of respondents claim they are unable to fill open positions despite increasing wages, scheduling flexibility and expanding benefits. According to the survey, the lack of housekeeping positions filled is impacting operations and it has become a top hiring need for about 40% of respondents. Returning from the lockdown-era of the pandemic, laborers are interested in more rewarding and engaging work and less menial and redundant work. That’s where robots come in.
Robots Aren’t Taking Your Jobs
To be clear, robots are not replacing workers. While robotics have come a long way, they are, quite frankly, not advanced enough to take over every job. In actuality, robots can improve the conditions for existing workers by offloading certain tasks to allow for more attentive cleaning and customer service performed by humans, resulting in increased employee and customer satisfaction. As we know, the ongoing labor shortage is impacted not by lack of jobs, but lack of people who want these jobs, and robotics integration can fill the widening gap that humans cannot fill alone. Thus, as hotel staff shortages continue, robotics can fill the gap made empty by this shift in the workforce.
How Hoteliers Can Fill the Gap
Robots can be a multipurpose solution for hotels, including housekeeping, delivery, cooking and customer service. With case-specific integration, robotics can easily be worked into hotels with immediate impact and minimal error.
Cleaning robots, for example, can mop, vacuum, and dust all while self-cleaning and independently returning to their charging station and draining and filling liquids. With high attention to detail within the integration process, cleaning robots can transform operational efficiency and do the heavy lifting while enabling current housekeeping employees to focus on detailed cleaning for tabletop surfaces, linens, etc.
Robotics integration is highly detailed and customized for each building and room. Cooking robots can be worked into the hotel’s kitchen operations, assisting line cooks with meeting restaurant and room service demand. Delivery robots can securely transport items from the lobby to hotel rooms and from the kitchen to tables with precision. Whether transporting extra linens or room service, delivery robots can work with existing hotel technologies like elevators, television and phones to improve efficiency and working conditions for employees. Robots also have the potential to provide customer service functions, such as answering frequently asked questions in more than two dozen languages, guide guests to their rooms, and serve as information and marketing displays via the robot’s screen.
From cleaning and delivery robots to customer service robots, the possibilities are endless with robotics integration. Robotic solutions can help reduce staffing shortages by improving working conditions for current employees (reducing turnover) and filling a gap that workers no longer want to fill due to shifting labor priorities. This is the new labor market, and as robots continue to evolve, hotel operations must too.
