Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts tests delivery robot at its hotel in the heart of Silicon Valley
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced the launch of a new delivery robot at the Crowne Plaza San Jose-Silicon Valley hotel. The robot, named Dash, was created by Savioke, makers of the Relay robot. Based in Santa Clara, California, Savioke specialises in robot solutions for the hospitality industry.
The Crowne Plaza brand assists in making business travel work for its guests, and Dash will further enhance the guest experience by providing quick and seamless delivery of snacks, toothbrushes and other amenities to hotel guests. Approximately three feet tall and weighing less than 100 pounds, Dash is designed to travel at a human walking pace and can independently navigate between floors, even calling the hotel elevator using a special Wi-Fi connection.
Dash is Savioke’s latest version of its autonomous delivery service featuring automatic docking, improved autonomy, and an all new design enabling Savioke to scale in response to demand. When Dash arrives at the guest room, it phones the guest to announce its arrival, delivers the requested items, and makes its way back to the front desk where it can dock itself into its own charging station.
Gina LaBarre, vice president, Americas Brand Management, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, IHG, commented, “We are delighted to introduce Dash to our guests at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Milpitas. Given the hotel’s location in the heart of Silicon Valley, it is a natural fit to enhance our service delivery programme with the addition of the latest in robot technology. We expect our guests to be impressed by the technological sophistication of Dash and its ability to deliver the quality service they’ve come to expect from the brand. Crowne Plaza hotel team members are also excited to explore new, innovative ways to serve our guests using Dash.”
Steve Cousins, CEO, Savioke said, “We’re excited to see the updated version of our Relay robot find a home at this Crowne Plaza hotel. With more than 300 guest rooms, this is the largest hotel to use our robot technology, and as Dash becomes a fixture at the hotel, we look forward to hearing some stories from guests and staff alike.”
Based on testing at the Milpitas hotel, the Crowne Plaza brand will determine whether to roll out the robot at other properties.
