The most efficient hotel in the world?

By: Dori Jenkins

Many hotels have been increasing the technology that they use and share with their customers; however, a new hotel in Japan has taken technology to a whole new level. Sasebo, Japan is working on developing robotic workers for their new company. Japan’s new Henn-na Hotel is about to become the first one to be run by humanlike robots. Guests that visit the Henn-na Hotel can check into their rooms, have their luggage carried to where they need, get room service, and have their rooms cleaned, all with just the help of androids. The robots are called “actroids” and are designed from androids, made to look similar to real people. The company’s developers hope that they will be able to run the business at a much lower cost by staffing it with robots along with just a few actual humans. The President of the company, Hideo Sawada, says, “We’ll make the most efficient hotel in the world.”
On July 17, 2016 this two-story hotel is scheduled to be opening in Sasebo, a city in southern Japan. The name Henn-na Hotel means “strange hotel” in Japanese, but it is also a play on the Japanese word for “change.” And for most travelers, the “actroids” are sure to be a strange change.
The robots are designed to show real, human-like actions, such as blinking, breathing, making eye contact, and responding to body language. They will also be able to speak and understand four languages, including English, Japanese, Mandarin, and Korean. A Seckman High School sophomore, Hannah Pfneisel, says, “Personally, having a robot act like a normal human being would not fascinate me, but scare me. I do not think that I could stay one night there, with the robots running around.”  However, the robots are only one part of the advanced technology. Instead of using room keys, guests can access their rooms through facial recognition. In addition, the building will not have conventional air, but a sensor in the room that will detect the guests’ body temperatures and adjust the air accordingly. The buildings will also be using solar power as well as using energy-saving technology to reduce costs.
The price of staying at this hotel is surprisingly not as expensive as you would think. The prices start at just $60 a night, because of the money they save on staff. Senior at Seckman High School, Megan Reed, says, “I cannot believe with such an advanced corporation, that the prices of staying there are just the same as staying in a Holiday Inn!” In the future, Sawada would like to open over 1,000 of these hotels throughout the world.