by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 12:50 AM ET, Tue July 10, 2018
The next generation of intelligent hospitality is set to arrive in China.
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts (IHG) is collaborating with tech firm Baidu to introduce Smart Rooms that are powered by artificial intelligence and aimed at redefining and improving the customer experience.
Guests at the InterContinental Beijing Sanlitun and InterContinental Guangzhou Exhibition Centre will be among the first to experience the new AI Smart Rooms, IHG said.
Within the year, a total of 100 of the new rooms are slated to come online at IHG properties in gateway cities and key destinations across China.
The new technology, customized for IHG, integrates AI technology with hotel operations.
Unlike traditional guest rooms, the newly launched AI Smart Room will fully embrace voice control technology to deliver a more natural human-computer interactive experience.
IHG said in a statement that the technology will allow guests in the new rooms to freely switch settings between work and leisure modes and also have a seamless room service experience. However, no specific details were provided regarding how the technology will function or what the improved experiences will include.
The new technology is also designed to further fine-tune the current "backstage management system," at IHG properties including customizing information and resetting devices, making hotel management a simpler task, the hotel company said in a statement.
"IHG has always been at the forefront of innovation. We are thrilled to be pioneering in the hospitality industry and exploring the various possibilities of future experience with our guests," Lin Wang, vice president of marketing, IHG Greater China, said in a statement. "Millennials are particularly sensitive to technology, often seeking new things to try. The AI Smart Room will undoubtedly be extremely attractive for them, paving the way for a new level of modernization and consumer satisfaction."
IHG and Baidu inked a strategic partnership on AI development last November. Since then, the hospitality industry has witnessed a new wave of exploration in this field.
The application of AI has gone beyond smart homes and automatic driving, and now marks a new milestone in the hospitality industry. In the future, IHG and Baidu will continue the exploration and innovation in intelligent hospitality solutions, creating more smart options and experiences for guests.
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