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

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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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  (#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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  (#3) They're Almost Entirely Staffed By Robots

  When Henn-na Hotel was first completed in 2015, the robots were there for novelty rather than true efficiency. But over the next year, things really began to change. More robots were added, existing robots were improved, and the number of on-site human employees was greatly reduced. Soon, more than half the hotel was staffed solely by robots, with humans taking on a more maintenance and support role.

  Hideo Sawada, the president of Huis Ten Bosch, wants robots to run 90% of the property in the future.
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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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  (#5) You Might Have To Bid For Rooms

  Prices for hotel rooms can vary, and that's no exception at the robot hotels popping up in Japan. Not only does the price fluctuate based on the time of year, it also changes based on how packed the hotel is. What's more, Henn-na Hotel requires you to bid on available rooms during peak season.

  Generally, it's fairly inexpensive to stay at Henn-na, since  the hotel doesn't have to pay a lot of wages; rooms typically cost around $60 per night. However, if the hotel is especially busy, a bidding war could drive the cost as high as $153.
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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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  (#7) Some Of The Robots Speak English

  Henn-na Hotel is currently targeted to a mostly Japanese-speaking population, but it's still accessible to English-speaking visitors. When you first walk in, a large plush creature will welcome you first in Japanese, and then in English. When you get to the reception desk, the English-speaking robot is indicated by a sign. Once you're checked in, your room will include a card of basic phrases in Japanese for you to say to your in-room helper.

  In the future, all robots in the hotel may be able to speak with you in your native language. Robots at the reception desk have already learned Japanese, English, Korean, and Chinese.
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  (#8) You Open Your Door Using Facial Recognition

  Hotel key cards are great - until you lose them. Unfortunately, robots aren't great at tracking them down. So, Henn-na Hotel adopted a novel alternative to the typical card: facial recognition.

  When you check in, a robot will scan your face. Then, when you get to your room, you can open the door simply by standing in front of it and having your face scanned.
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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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  (#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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  (#11) Your Room Knows If You're Hot Or Cold

  At Henn-na Hotel, even your room uses advanced technology. Rather than having the usual air conditioning, each hotel room has large radiation panel that can sense body temperatures inside the room. When your body temperature changes, the temperature of the room will adjust in order to maintain it. Many of these in-room features run on solar power, so the hotel is surprisingly energy-efficient.

  Of course, if you find that you like your room colder or hotter, you can always adjust the temperature, thanks to your little in-room helper.
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  (#12) They're Recognized By The Guinness Book Of World Records

  Henn-na Hotel officially opened in 2015. In 2016, The Guinness Book of World Records announced that, as the first robot-staffed hotel in the world, Henn-na deserved a place in world record history. At the time of its recognition, the hotel had already welcomed over 78,000 guests.
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  (#13) They Could Move Overseas

  Currently, the only two robot hotels in the world are in Japan. But that might not be the case for long: Huis Ten Bosch President Hideo Sawada aims to build at 1,000 robot hotels worldwide.

  If you can't wait to experience robot hospitality, there are options in the United States. Dozens of American hotels use Savioke Relay robots to deliver items to rooms.

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