Online trading giant Alibaba has created a hotel model entirely based on futuristic technology.
A hotel without cash, without staff where everything is fully automated. This is the model that Alibaba intends to develop with FlyZoo. Located in Hangzhou city, this establishment intends to represent the future of the hotel industry. A journalist from CNBC went on site and was able to check if the initial promises were kept.
Upon your arrival, the change of scenery is at the rendezvous since there is no reception or reception. Foreign visitors are nevertheless subject to a registration of their identity papers. For the Chinese, a simple passage through an electronic kiosk or via the FlyZoo application is necessary
Alibaba hopes to sell FlyZoo to major hotel chains
Once in the room that is opened using a facial recognition tool, the virtual assistant Tmall Genie is here to serve you. This is Alibaba’s equivalent of Alexa or Google Home. He can therefore open the curtains, turn on the television or change the lighting of the premises. It is also possible to order towels or water that will be brought … by a robot.
The hallways are filled with refrigerators containing drinks and snacks. Unlike traditional vending machines, it is possible to use them using the Alipay app. Once the item is removed, the customer will be charged automatically without further action.
In short, as can be seen, Alibaba is determined to disrupt the traditional practices of the hotel industry. This is a giant model that the company hopes to sell to large chains of hotels already existing. The Chinese firm is in advanced contact with Marriott International.
Peggy Fang Roe, Asia Pacific’s sales and marketing director, is rather interested: “Everyone appreciates the ease of getting into the hotel faster. Nobody will say “I want to go to the reception and waste time”. It’s starting to work well, but there are still steps in the process that require you to go through the reception, so we have not totally eliminated that yet, but when we do, I think people are going there will adapt fairly quickly. “
Marriott is now waiting for government approval to try to go further in the use of these technologies.