Japan's first robot-staffed hotel fired over half of its robotic workforce for annoying guests.

The Henn na Hotel, which translates to 'Strange Hotel,' opened in Sasebo, Japan, in July 2015. It was officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the first hotel in the world to be staffed by robots. At its peak, the hotel utilized 243 different robots to handle tasks such as check-in, luggage transport, and in-room assistance.By 2019, the hotel decided to 'fire' 121 of these robots due to persistent technical failures and guest complaints. One of the most notorious issues involved the 'Churi' doll-shaped assistant placed in every room. The robot’s voice-recognition software was so sensitive that it frequently mistook a guest's snoring for a command, waking them up in the middle of the night to ask for clarification.Other logistical failures included the luggage robots, which could only operate on flat, indoor surfaces and frequently broke down when they encountered rain or uneven flooring. Furthermore, the check-in robots, which included a mechanical dinosaur, often failed to scan passports correctly, requiring human intervention. Instead of reducing labor, the robots actually increased the workload for the remaining human staff.Hideo Sawada, the president of H.I.S. (the company that owns the hotel), admitted that the technology was aging faster than expected. The hotel realized that in many hospitality scenarios, humans are still more efficient and less intrusive than current robotic solutions. Today, the hotel continues to operate but relies on a hybrid model where humans handle the most complex and sensitive guest interactions.