THE ROBOT HOTEL

Imagine you walk into a hotel and a dinosaur says “Welcome, if you want to check in, push one.” A few years ago a Japanese businessman, Hideo Sawada, opened a hotel. He called the hotel “The Henn-na.” It means strange. Almost all the workers at the hotel are robots. He wanted the hotel to be like an amusement park. He also says he is trying to use less human power and more technology. He thinks he can save money like this.

When you walk into the hotel you see robots at the front desk. They help guests check in. One robot looks like a human. It speaks Japanese. Another one looks like a dinosaur. It speaks English. There is a touch screen panel at the entrance. The visitors type in their personal information. Then there is a porter. It is a robot cart on wheels. It takes the guests’ luggage to their room.

You can see robots everywhere in the hotel. There is one in the locker room. A giant robotic arm lifts one of the boxes in the wall and takes it to you. It takes the box back to its place in the wall when you finish putting something in it. There is another robot in the lobby. It tells people what’s for breakfast.

There aren’t any room keys at the hotel. When they first come to the hotel a panel scans guests’ faces. When they come in front of the room, the room door unlocks and opens. “People often lose their room keys but it is easier like this” says Hideo.

There are still a few people who work at the hotel. Hideo Sawada says robots can’t make the beds. Also he says there are security people who watch the cameras all day.

Staying at the Henn-na Hotel is not expensive. It costs about $80 a day. That is very cheap for Japan.

Sawada is excited about his robot hotel. He has big hopes for the idea. He wants to open more robot hotels in Japan and in other countries.