Smart hotel successively opened- unable to speak Japanese was all right

Recently the NHK News On-line reported the following:

スマートホテル相次ぎ開業 日本語が話せなくても大丈夫

5月5日 4時00分

ロボットやＡＩスピーカーなど新しい技術をふんだんに活用して、日本語を話せない外国人旅行者などにも快適に過ごしてもらおうというホテルが相次いで開業しています。

このうちロボットが接客するホテルを各地で展開している大手の旅行会社は、先月２７日に、東京・浜松町で新しいホテルの営業を始めました。

フロントには人型のロボットが備えられ、チェックインの手続きを英語、中国語、韓国語などで行えるようにしています。清掃作業などにもロボットを使い、ホテル業界で深刻になる人手不足の対策にもつながっているとしています。

また東京・秋葉原では、スマートフォンの端末を操作したりＡＩスピーカーに話しかけたりすることで、照明や空調、カーテンの開け閉めなど、あらゆる操作を行えるホテルが営業しています。

日本語が話せなくても利用できるうえ、新しい技術をふんだんに使ったホテルの滞在を体験してみたいと宿泊客のおよそ８０％は外国人旅行者だということです。

日本を訪れる外国人旅行者が増える中、ホテル業界ではロボットやいわゆるＩｏＴ技術などを活用して、日本語の話せない旅行者向けにサービスを充実させようという動きが広がっています。

Translation

New technology that utilized robot and AI loudspeaker was abundantly used; hotels that foreign travelers who were not able to speak Japanese could spend time comfortably had started business successively.

Among them, a major travel agency which developed hotels using the robot to serve guests began to operate a new hotel at Hamamatsu-cho of Tokyo on the 27th last month.

At the front desk a robot in human shape was set up which could go through the procedures for check-in in English, Chinese and Korean. A robot was used to do the cleaning work; it was assumed that this was related to measures dealing with the labor shortage which had become serious in the hotel business.

Also, in Akihabara in Tokyo a hotel was opened where all operations such as illuminating and air-conditioning, opening and closing of a curtain could be performed by speaking to an AI loudspeaker using a smart phone.

On top of the fact that one could use them even one could not speak Japanese, there were those who would like to experience a stay in a hotel where new technology was used abundantly, it was said that approximately 80 % of the guests were foreign travelers.

While foreign travelers who visited Japan were increasing, the hotel business was making use of robots and the so-called IoT technology. A movement to enrich service for travelers who could not speak Japanese had spread.

So, the Japanese hotels are trying to use IoT to attract foreign travelers.