Random thing You Need To Know About Japan's Robot Hotels (13 items)

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  (#10) You Don't Have To Tip

  Tipping hotel staff is customary in the United States, though that's not always the case in other countries. Robots at Henn-na Hotel don't need to be tipped - rather than money, they work for ratings.

  Guests rate a robot's performance so that engineers can monitor the efficiency of the different types of bots in their positions and make necessary changes. They simply tap how many stars out of five they deserve on the screen, and that rating will be saved for analysis later.
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  (#6) Your Receptionist Could Be A Velociraptor

  The receptionists at Henn-na Hotel are unusual, to say the least. The Japanese-speaking android is a smiling woman, but the English-speaking receptionist is a robotic velociraptor. This realistic looking dinosaur wears a little hat, bows to greet you, and gestures with its claws. It also has voice recognition, so you can ask it questions. Its voice is a little husky, but it can answer.
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  (#9) You Have A Cute In-Room Assistant

  Imagine having a hotel room with an on-call assistant. You'd never have to call the front desk again. Henn-na Hotel made that dream a reality, but in true Japanese style, it did it adorably.

  The hotel's in-room aide is named Chu-ri-chan, which roughly translates to "Little Tulip" - a nod to the hotel's Dutch theme park roots. Chu-ri-chan responds to voice command, and can answer many questions guests might have. Want something to eat? Chu-ri-can can help with room service. Want to watch a specific show or movie on TV? Chu-ri-chan will set it up for you. It can also wake you with a cheerful little jingle.

  Chu-ri-chan currently only speaks Japanese, but the engineers behind Henn-na Hotel are working on making it multilingual. A newer assistant, Tapia, speaks English.
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  (#2) Robot Hotels Started In A Theme Park

  Huis Ten Bosch, in Nagasaki Prefecture, isn't your average theme park. It recreates the Netherlands with full-sized Dutch buildings, and even a harbor with ships. Since the park first opened in 1992, visitors have come for the unique shopping, the boat tours of the canals, and to learn more about Dutch culture. Today, they also come to stay at Henn-na Hotel.

  But why put a robot-run hotel in a Netherlands-themed amusement park? The hotel was built here initially because the park's head and the hotel's CEO were working side-by-side on the project. The theme park was struggling financially, and had begun adopting higher-tech attractions to bring in new guests. Henn-na Hotel seemed like a natural extension of those changes.
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  (#1) The First Robot Hotel Opened In 2015

  Automation has been involved in the Japanese hospitality industry for years. For instance, restaurants called shokkenki implement machines, through which patrons place their orders and pay for their meals.

  However, the first robot hotel didn't open its automated doors until 2015. It's called Henn-na Hotel, which literally translates to "strange hotel." But the tongue-in-cheek name has a clever double-meaning: it's also close to the term for "evolve."
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  (#4) It Takes Over 100 Robots To Run A Hotel

  Running a hotel is no easy feat. You have to clean, deliver room service, answer guests' questions, and process a ton of paperwork. You might think that a handful of tireless, endlessly patient robots could manage a single hotel. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

  In the original Henn-na Hotel, tasks are completed by 182 robots. However, a second location of the hotel is set to open near Tokyo Disney Resort, and will start out with 140 robots, two of which are concierges.

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