A robot host: from the first welcome to help from the right person
How we envision welcoming guests, helping with directions and handing questions to staff in the W1 project.
A guest need not know which department handles their question. They need directions, information or someone who can help. This need is the starting point for the robot-host role we are exploring in SAIREX W1.
W1 is under development. The following is an example of a planned scenario, not a description of an operating service.
Welcome the guest and understand the request
Imagine someone entering the hotel for the first time. They want to find the restaurant, then clarify a question about their booking.
The robot's first step is to greet the guest and offer help. Not a lengthy presentation of features, but a simple question: “Welcome. How may I help you?”
This conversation must remain optional. The guest can use the guidance or go straight to a staff member. The robot must not obstruct the passage, impose a conversation or become a mandatory stop before reception.
Explain, show and, when appropriate, guide
For the restaurant question, the scenario is straightforward: provide current information, show directions on screen and offer guidance if that function has been tested and is available on the route.
Information must come from hotel-approved material. If hours have changed or information is insufficient, checking with staff is more useful than confidently giving the wrong time.
Guiding someone means more than moving to a map point. It involves checking whether the person is following, whether the pace suits them and whether the end of the route is clear. Testing these situations must be part of developing the service.
Pass the question to someone who can resolve it
A booking question may need a receptionist. The robot's task is not to pretend to have expertise it lacks, but to help the guest obtain the right assistance.
Depending on the process agreed with the hotel, this could mean pointing out the right desk, guiding the guest there or sending a request to the responsible staff member. With the guest's permission, a short summary can be passed on so they do not have to repeat everything. Unnecessary personal details are not needed for this handoff.
It is important to distinguish an attempt to make contact from a confirmed result. The robot must not say a staff member is on the way without confirmation. If nobody answers, the guest needs a clear next step: where to go in person or another way to obtain help.
Assess help by the guest's outcome
A successful scenario ends with a result, not a line spoken by the robot: the person found the restaurant, received clear information or reached reception.
Handing a question to staff is not a failure of automation. Sometimes it is exactly the right conclusion to the service. Testing this scenario should therefore assess not only the robot's independent answers but also how well it works with the hotel team.
For SAIREX W1, this is one development direction: becoming an approachable first assistant for guests and a link to staff. Specific capabilities and their operating conditions will be confirmed as the prototype is built and tested.