Robotic Future Of Room Service Is Nearly Here
The Botlr Did It!
(CBS) -- It's not quite Rosie from the Jetsons, but a hotel in Chicago's River North neighborhood is showing off a delivery robot.
Botlr the butler robot can bring towels, bottled water or a new toothbrush to your hotel room.
The sleek self-propelled robot that stands about three feet tall and has a tablet for a head is already in service at Aloft hotels in Silicon Valley and Cupertino.
Starwood Hotels brought Botlr to its property in Bolingbrook earlier this week and River North on Friday.
Head of Innovation Eric Marlo says a staffer would load the item into Botlr's hatch and type in the room number and then the robot is on its way.
He says it communicates with the hotel's elevators via bluetooth and will call your room to tell you it's arrived.
It's also adept at posing for selfies and transmitting them to social media, Marlo says.
In this day of increased competition from places like Airbnb, Marlo says Botlr is a big draw for guests, with people booking a room just to get the robot to deliver.
It may be awhile before Botlr is making deliveries in the Chicago market. Marlo says they hope to have the robot working at its Illinois properties within a year.
Botlr doesn't take tips but does enjoy tweets.
#MeetBotlr is the hashtag.
