LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A Las Vegas hotel focused on offering an AI-powered experience is introducing the world to its new visitor-facing robot, which it believes may be a sign of things to come in the hospitality industry.
Otonomus Hotel, located near the intersection of Russell Road and Decatur Boulevard, west of Allegiant Stadium, claims the title of “the world’s first AI-powered hotel,” according to a news release from the property.
‘Chief Vibes Officer’
The hotel introduced Oto, the “chief vibes officer,” on Tuesday. The humanoid robot, with a dark plastic face featuring brightly projected eyes and eyebrows, greets visitors, listens to their comments and questions, and responds while animatedly waving its arms.
The AI-powered bot awaits guests in the hotel lobby and is equipped with jokes, historical facts and suggestions. Travelers simply speak into a microphone and ask questions similar to those they would ask a human at the front desk. The responses are comparable to what one might experience using ChatGPT or Grok, but with a physical presence.
During a first look, Oto was told that a reporter from FOX5 was present. Oto responded with facts about the station.
“FOX5 News, also known as ‘Channel Five,’” Oto said. “They started out in 1967 as Nevada’s first independent station. Broke into the Fox network in ’86. They’re the go-to for local news. Plus, they lead the charge on Raider and Aces coverage. True Vegas icons in their own right.”
While Oto appears to be well-versed in Las Vegas broadcast history and skilled at providing “vibes,” he is also fluent in more than 50 languages. That’s one thing Oto offers that few of his human counterparts do, according to Martina Barbarian, vice president of experience and culture for the hotel.
“Our guests from around the world, when they walk in and they start speaking to him in Russian or … any type of language, he speaks it so proficiently,” Barbarian said.
Form Meets Function?
Oto is powered by IntBot, a company based in Sunnyvale, California. According to IntBot’s website, the startup aims to build humanoid robots powered by AI for real-world service. Among the use cases listed on the site, the company envisions its robots being used in resorts, airports and hotels like Otonomus.
The site notes that IntBot technology is designed to execute most tasks without the need to physically interact with items, implying the robot’s presence is mostly a novelty. Still, Oto serves practical purposes, enabling staff to check guests in and out of the hotel and open service tickets for items like extra towels.
‘Take Me to Your Leader’
It remains to be seen whether the “vibes” offered by Oto—and the concept of an AI-powered hotel in general—are what visitors to Las Vegas are looking for. With a well-publicized dip in tourism, could a hotel run largely by robots offer the kind of unique experience that draws people to Las Vegas?
While Oto performs a function similar to a front desk kiosk, an interactive robot brings added curiosity to automation, which is spreading across the hospitality industry in Las Vegas and beyond. This “intelligent, intuitive and interactive” approach to machine-to-human interaction in the form of physical robot agents may be a sneak preview of what’s to come in the “Entertainment Capital of the World.”
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