The Housekeeping team at Hilton Austin Airport Hotel in Texas have started using robots to vacuum the guest rooms as the Room Attendants make them up. Affectionately called Rosie,  the robots weigh 7.7kgs and can operate on battery power for 1.5 hours. Coming in at US$7500 each or leased at $300 per month each, the Hotel has reported significant productivity gains with Room Attendants saving an average of 5.5 minutes per room.   

I asked the following questions about the introduction of Rosie of the Housekeeping Management team.

Q. What is the process for the Room Attendants?
A. Turn the robot on, block off any areas they do not want the robot to go and press play. They are stored in the housekeeping storage, batteries are on each floor.

Q. Can the Robot complete the vacuuming of the guest room in the time it takes them to service the room?
A. Yes

Q. Does every Room Attendant have a robot?
A. Yes

Q. How do they move from room to room with the robots?
A. Currently, they carry them with their supplies, or the houseman moves them from room to room.

Q. Are they heavy?
A. They are somewhat heavy and can be awkward to carry. 

Q. How many rooms can the robots vacuum before changing the battery?
A. About 7 rooms

Q. Has using the robot’s improved productivity within the team?
A. Yes

Q. What are the best features of the robots?
A. They are easy to use and you can focus on other cleaning tasks while it vacuums the room.

Q. What are the challenges?
A. It doesn’t pick up everything especially in corners, so housekeepers have to make sure to double check. They are challenging to use without mapping capabilities – at times can be a hassle in large open areas.

Q. Would you recommend using robots to other Housekeepers?
A. Yes

thanks to Sabrina Duren @TAILOS