The robots are coming, hoteliers told

Hotel porters could be replaced by robot bag-carriers in future, delegates at the Master Innholders' annual general managers conference were told last week.

Melvin Gold, director of hotel, leisure and tourism at consultants Pannell Kerr Forster, said a combination of new technology and low pay in the business could mean the age of the hotel robot is about to dawn.

"It may sound completely bizarre, but there is no reason why a robot cannot get a bag to a room quicker than a porter. Many economists could not see the Internet taking off 10 years ago, so we cannot rule out the possibility we will use robots in some form in the next 10 years," he said.

Robots have already appeared in restaurants such as the London-based Yo! Sushi chain, where managing director Simon Woodroffe approached a wheelchair technology specialist and a stage design company to create his waiter robots that move around the restaurants carrying drinks.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 3 - 9 February 2000