Starwood’s Aloft brand prides itself on offering modern, fresh, and fun properties, so it’s not much of a surprise that their latest project involves a…futuristic robot?! (Well, maybe it’s a little bit of a surprise.) The “Boltr” — named A.L.O. — is designed to step in when human staff gets backed up at the reception desk. A.L.O also performs basic tasks like moving towels and linens throughout the hotel. It may even deliver your breakfast-in-bed room service order! In lieu of cash, guests are encouraged to tip the bot with reviews and tweets. Positive reviews are rewarded with a little robot dance. It’s hard to tell if this is one more step towards the inhuman direction the hospitality industry is taking (other examples include iPad ordering and express checkout), or just a great way to get the Aloft some publicity. Starwood global brand leader Brian McGuiness has described the robot as having “the work ethic of Wall-E, the humor of Rosey from The Jetsons and [it] reminds me of my favorite childhood robot, R2-D2. We are excited to have it join our team.” There’s no word yet on just how many robots Aloft will roll out or where. [Skift]
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