Re-examining hotel robots from a market perspective

By chance, I attended a foreign government cooperation and exchange meeting at Shenzhen Futian Sheraton Hotel. I happened to see a robot placed in the check-out area on the first floor lobby (for various reasons, the specific manufacturer's name is not convenient to be disclosed here). After the meeting ended at 12 noon, I went to have a deeper understanding. The result is: the overall workmanship of the robot is relatively exquisite, its shape belongs to the equipment type, and the main functions displayed on the robot interface are the two function icons of "delivery and guidance reception". Trying to click further to view the content will prompt that a password is required. There is no other display. So I had to go to the restaurant for dinner. I sat down on the sofa not far from the robot area when I came out. I observed for almost an hour and did not see anyone passing by the robot actively interacting with the robot, nor did I see anyone operating the robot to do things. I left the hotel.

As we have been professionally engaged in the research and development of robot customization since 2016, although hotel robots are not our focus, we have been providing close cooperation and support to several robot companies that mainly use hotel robots. Naturally, we have further reflected on this actual situation. Then we arranged for people to go to the Sheraton Hotel for 3 consecutive days to observe and record the actual use of robots. The results of 3 days and almost 8 hours of continuous observation (no one took the initiative to interact with the robot, and no one saw the robot in use) confirmed the analysis conclusion in my mind.

1Analysis from the market perspective

Hotel robots are relatively commercially viable, and some scenarios have already seen the use of robots. And there is no problem with purchasing power.

2 Analysis of the main functions of current hotel robots

At present, there are less than 10 well-known domestic manufacturers that focus on hotel robots. The main functions of these robots that have been used in hotels are: delivery (including food delivery, etc.) and reception and guidance. The main functions are basically the same as the main functions of the robot in the Sheraton Hotel.

For us who make robots, let’s not worry about who will pay for the robots. But after making them with great care, they are left somewhere without being tried out, or their value is rarely brought into play. As a boss of a company, if you hire an employee who does not do anything or cannot do anything during working hours, will the boss still let this employee continue to work after a long time? Is this good for the company’s efficiency? Will you continue to hire similar employees? In other words, if the robots made cannot play their actual value in the market, their vitality will definitely not be strong. No matter how good the sales team, financial strength and resource advantages are, they will not last long. This must be reflected and re-examined.

1 As a new type of robot, its appearance should be eye-catching, attracting the attention of hotel staff and arousing their curiosity. In this way, everyone will take the initiative to watch and further experience it. It would be better if the hotel had more signs to display the functions of the robot. Therefore, the robot in the Sheraton Hotel is an equipment shape, which hardly attracts the curiosity of hotel staff.

2 From the current hotel robot delivery and guidance as the main function, objectively speaking, it is mainly based on the grafting of the robot's automatic navigation and guidance function with the hotel scene, rather than the organic integration of the robot's existing practical functions in the hotel scene. Just think about it: the efficiency of robot delivery is compared with that of human; robot guidance is compared with that of human; its practicality is clear to everyone. Robot delivery and guidance can only be used in specific hotel situations, that is, when there is really no one. And the current hotel robots just regard these two as the main functions of the hotel.

3. The practical scene functions of robots should be explored from the two dimensions of hotel guests and hotel management in the hotel scene, and their pain points, key points and interests should be found. Robots are the most impressive thing for people coming and going to the hotel. For example, hotel guests are interested in the surrounding tourist attractions, famous food characteristics, how to travel conveniently, including check-in, check-out, dining and fitness related to the wine list, which can be achieved through robots. Even through big data analysis to find the main characteristics of hotel staff, robots will have what they are interested in. In other words, if the robot has people or is busy working for more than 10 hours a day. And there is no complaint or anger. As a result, the boss will definitely like it, the guests will like it, and the hotel staff will like it. Then there will naturally be more and more robots used in hotels. Instead of the hotel robots we see now, they are lonely and helpless and have been entangled in themselves.

In short, a robot is a product that must have market value. It is not a work of art and is not for appreciation. As a robot manufacturer, it is responsible for giving the robot actual use value functions, and cannot develop it based on self-feeling. It is necessary to obtain improved and perfected scene function value data from the market, and it is necessary to be down-to-earth and constantly improve itself to make robot products that market users cannot do without.