Cleaning robots are powering an automation revolution in hospitality - The Washington Post - 0 views
www.washingtonpost.com/...ots-cleaning-hospitality-covid
cleaning robots automation TECHNOLOGY hospitality
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While Vi-YO-Let, the product of a partnership with Denmark-based UVD Robots, might play cute tunes and light up as she moves, she has a serious job: disinfecting the air and surfaces around her. And she does so remarkably well: Her array of UV lights, which look like a bundle of lightsabers, kill more than 99 percent of viruses and bacteria, including the coronavirus.
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But as the pandemic rages into its second year, major brands are increasingly turning to the world of high-tech disinfection to strengthen their cleaning protocols
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It’s a trend that’s slowly transforming housekeeping — and accelerating the pace of automation in hospitality.
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Until recently, only health-care workers would frequently interact with disinfecting bots, which cost upward of $125,000 each. It’s a steep investment, but if it boosts travelers’ confidence, it’s worth it,
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The appeal to the hospitality sector of virus-slaying UV light is obvious. Hospitals have found Xenex’s patented machines kill “22 times more pathogens” when compared with a room cleaned to CDC standards alone, Miller said.
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certain hospitality jobs, those where face-to-face customer service is a key part of the experience, were less vulnerable.
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Today, travelers might stumble on UV bots anywhere from five-star hotels and convention centers to train stations and cruise ships.
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Verified Market Research that projects the market for UV disinfecting bots will grow to more than $5.5 billion by 2027.
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Some robot makers refer to these kinds of bots as “cobots,” a portmanteau of “collaboration” and “robots,” because they’re intended to work alongside people rather than replace them.
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a report that predicted more than 60 percent of jobs in hospitality-dominated cities like Las Vegas could be automatable by 2035
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Take the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. The iconic hotel, famous for hosting the annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony, boasts in one promotional video that its Xenex robot staff “zaps every inch before your arrival,” leaving you a “pathogen-free sanctuary” where you’ll “rest assured you’re sleeping in the safest room possible.”
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“If they can develop driverless cars, if they can develop the whole variety of different things I saw there, certainly the jobs in our industry are going to change.”
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Unite Here negotiates “extensive technology language” into its labor contracts. This helps ensure that workers can retrain for new skills, transition to other roles or at least receive severance pay if their jobs are automated out of existence.
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This article explains how robotics in hospitality is becoming far more common because of Covid-19. They go into detail about how, right now, all robotics require the assistance of humans. But they also go into how that can change in the next few years. The better technology gets, the less need there is for human support.