Second Aloft Hotel Employs Robot

The Aloft Silicon Valley has become the second Aloft hotel to employ a robotic butler, or Botlr as it is called.

Botlr is now on call full-time, where it will assist Aloft staff in delivering amenities to guest rooms.

Dressed in a custom uniform and nametag, Botlr autonomously transports everything from toothbrushes to the day’s paper as it navigates the 172 rooms and five floors of Aloft Silicon Valley.

“We embarked upon this robotic experiment years ago, and it has proven what we suspected all along — humans and robots can co-exist and work side by side to elevate the guest experience,” said Brian McGuinness, Global Brand Leader, Starwood’s Specialty Select Brands. “Botlr has been an integral part of the Aloft Cupertino experience, and the demand from guests and associates around the world to interact with our biotic bellhop has been astounding. As we add our second Botlr to the Aloft team and transfer our first Botlr to new hotels around the country, we know they will continue to not only make hospitality history, but, more importantly, memories for our guests.”

This is the brand’s second full-time robot, following the debut of a robot at Aloft Cupertino last year.

Starting 27 August 2015, the original Aloft Botlr will hit the road, rolling across the country to Aloft Miami South Beach, and will later be transferred to the new Aloft Manhattan Downtown - Financial District for a short stint this Fall before returning to Cupertino.

Both Botlrs are graduates of Savioke, a Santa Clara, CA-based company that provides robots to the services industry including hotels, hospitals, restaurants and offices.