L’hotel Group appoints robots in delivering meals to beat man-power shortage

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Hong Kong hotels operator L’hotel Group has turned to robots amid a coronavirus driven slump in the hospitality sector, with the aim of providing meals to guests and ensuring reduced interaction with staff.

The company, which is wholly owned by property developer Chinachem Group, will have three artificial intelligence robots called Genie delivering meals and drinks to guests at its 432-room L’hotel Island South property in Wong Chuk Hang, which welcomes guests in quarantine, by mid-April. L’hotel said it was the first hotel to introduce meal-delivery robots in Hong Kong.

A Genie robot is already serving 130 to 150 meals a day, mostly to those quarantined. The introduction of these robots comes at a time when hotels in Hong Kong are reeling from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which has followed on the heels of months of anti-government protests. In the midst of this, tourist arrivals have all but disappeared, events have been cancelled and occupancy rates have plummeted. This has, in turn, forced hotels to cut some staff, force others to take unpaid leave and even suspend operations.

A spokeswoman for L’hotel said that none of its staff had been asked to take unpaid leave. The hotel, however, declined to reveal the number of staff and its occupancy rate.

The cost of each robot, acquired on a subscription basis from Hong Kong-based Rice Robotics, runs into six figures every month, said Victor Lee, the robotics company’s founder and chief executive.

Ada Choi, head of occupier research in Asia-Pacific and head of research in Greater China at CBRE said that the hotels overseas are already using robots to deliver services and items. It is likely to see the adoption rate pick up. I can see this becoming more practical. Robotic technology is advancing as well to become more intelligent.

This week, Hotel Benito in Tsim Sha Tsui said it would suspend operations on June 1 for redevelopment after its income had nosedived by more than 80 per cent. Last week, InterContinental Hong Kong hotel, also in Tsim Sha Tsui, opted to start a lengthy renovations process earlier than scheduled and let go of about 500 staff members, according to a workers’ union.

Goodwin Gaw, chairman of Gaw Capital Partners said that with Hong Kong’s tourism essentially down to zero, the shareholders decided to try to accelerate the renovations, so we can reopen sooner, which led a consortium that bought the InterContinental in 2015.

A Genie robot is already serving 130 to 150 meals a day at L’hotel Island South in Wong Chuk Hang. The hotel will have three such robots by mid-April. Photo: HandoutA Genie robot is already serving 130 to 150 meals a day at L’hotel Island South in Wong Chuk Hang.

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