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High tech hotels are using robots around the nation to make customer service easier

Posted at 8:57 PM, May 15, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-15 23:31:23-04

At dozens of hotels around the country, robots are making life easier for employees and guests of the hotel.

Alina the robot makes free deliveries at the Luma Hotel Times Square in New York. The robot tends to 7,463 guests, requesting items like more bath products or extra towels.

"We felt it was a novelty and we felt it would be something different to bring to our guests. A different experience," Kate Martin GM of Luma Hotel Times Square said.

Here's how it works: A front desk employee loads the robot up and types in the destination, then it's off to deliver to a guest.

The robots even call for their own elevator using the hotel's Wi-Fi system and then guests get a phone call when the robot is at the door.

The robot at this hotel is one of more than 60 currently being used in U.S. hotels, made by a company called Savioke (Savvy Oak).

Other high tech additions are becoming more common at properties like a virtual concierge wall at the Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel.

Marriott is also working on "smart rooms" that respond to voice commands, but hospitality experts say tech will never replace the human touch.

The robot is also in use at hospitals and high rise residential buildings, CBS News Correspondent Wendy Gillette reported.