“As guests walk through a hotel this year, they might see something new,” observes Ried Floco, president and director of Nightfood Holdings and its subsidiary Techforce Robotics. “A delivery bot may drop off fresh towels at a room or bring a drink to a table at the hotel’s restaurant. They may round the corner to catch an autonomous robot delivering concessions to crowded meeting areas or hauling a load of bedsheets to the laundry room.”
The hospitality industry can’t wait for the future of robotics. According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association, 82% of hotels currently struggle with staffing shortages. The combination of a labor shortage rising right along with increased guest expectations makes a natural proving ground for AI-enhanced service automation.
Hospitality as the proving ground for AI-enhanced automation
Hospitality relies heavily on humans’ continuous movement of operational supplies behind the scenes to serve guests. Linens, food, supplies, waste, and more all need to be moved across large, expansive properties. These tasks are repetitive, physically demanding, and difficult on the staff. Unlike controlled environments, hotels operate in highly dynamic, unique environments with varying and often changing operational layouts.
“Automation in these settings must navigate autonomously, integrate with existing operations, and perform reliably,” Floco says. “That’s what makes hospitality an ideal proving ground. Automation that can operate effectively and efficiently in this environment can be scaled across other industries.”
As Floco mentions, hotels’ highly repeatable, burdensome tasks are ideal for robotic automation. Highly accurate advanced coding, sensors, and precision mapping with dynamic routing capabilities enable robots to integrate into a property and follow routes to deliver amenities or handle other labor-intensive tasks, often with limited or no human intervention.
Advancements in robotic learning and software allow for timely adaptation and applied best-practices knowledge from one location to another. Though every building is different, most share common features such as hallways, elevators, guest rooms, and back corridors, enabling robotics to transfer best practices from one site to another with speed. Hotels are settings that enable robotics to quickly improve the staff tasks and guests’ experiences.
How robotics helps stabilize margins in high-turnover environments
Difficult and labor-intensive daily tasks within the hospitality industry make turnover and strain a real problem. The repetitive nature of difficult tasks weighs on the staff, burdening them with inefficiencies and reducing time for the team to provide meaningful service. Day-to-day hotel operations end up with fluctuating schedules, strained staff, inconsistencies, and fluctuating financial performance.
“Robotics brings stability to operations,” notes Floco. “Robots don’t feel the strain, don’t get hurt, and don’t call in, plus they don’t get distracted by the variables a hotel operation experiences. They can focus on supporting the staff’s needs by transporting dirty waste and soiled linens from a guestroom floor, automatically opening doors and calling elevators, autonomously delivering the dirty items all the way to the dumpster or laundry room.”
“Implementing automation and the consistency it provides will change the way staff and operations focus their time and efforts for better results,” Floco adds. “Robotics takes the routine and heavy lifting off the most strained staff so they can focus on more meaningful and important tasks. It brings a baseline stability to an operation, providing time for supervisors to evaluate and implement strategies to deliver better support and performance to their teams and guests. Through automation, you can reduce staff injuries, human burnout, and provide a more stable operation, with the added benefit of delivering a more efficient and profitable performance.”
The rise of the Robotics-as-a-Service Provider (RaaSP) model in hospitality
Robotics adoption is moving away from large upfront investments and toward a Robotics-as-a-Service Provider (RaaSP) subscription model. Hotels can deploy automation through a predictable monthly cost structure that includes the robot, supporting hardware, software updates, and ongoing support.
“This model fits how hotels actually run,” says Floco. “A hotel can start small, scale when things get busy, and adjust as operational needs may change. You’re not spending large sums of money on equipment that you don’t know how to program, manage, or no longer works for your needs.”
A RaaSP model leaves all the implementation, training, and technical details to the Robotic Provider. Robots are integrated into existing workflows, connecting to systems like elevators, door access, and task management systems. This integration allows them to become part of the day-to-day operation, supporting how work moves across the property.
Building robotics for real-world environments
Robotics is designed to offer real-world solutions at a predetermined monthly subscription price and service expectation. Today, it provides solutions for hotels, convention centers, arenas, casinos, and other large hospitality venues.
“These robots are in the real world today, and hotels implementing them are benefiting with quick positive results,” Floco concludes. “Taking the routine heavy-lifting off the hotel staff only makes sense, and knowing the cost-effective and hands-off approach to implementation and utilization is a win for all of us in the hospitality industry.”
Did You Know/Factoid
Did you know hotel robots are more than cute concierges? The service robots market is growing 16.7% per year through 2029 and is set to add about $663 million. Hotels account for over half of sales, and North America drives roughly 43% of growth. As these bots deliver amenities and clean corridors, they navigate with vision and even understand speech.