By Filip Linek, Founder and CEO of FLAE Robotics - 11.4.2025
Across the global hospitality landscape, a new generation of humanoid AI agents is moving from concept to reality. As hotels face fierce competition and rising guest expectations in 2025, these intelligent machines are moving past novelty status and beginning to redefine service, efficiency, and brand appeal. Surveys reveal a growing openness among travelers to encounter AI agents at reception, highlighting a shift in what guests value and expect. For forward-thinking hoteliers, integrating AI-powered agents is becoming less an experiment and more a strategic imperative, and one that promises to elevate guest satisfaction and keep pace with the rapidly changing world of hospitality.
Why now? Advances in AI, natural language processing (NLP), and robotics enable smarter automation and hyper-personalization that directly address soaring labor costs, chronic workforce shortages, and rising guest expectations for speed and frictionless experiences. Investment in AI technologies surged 250% in 2025 compared to the previous year, with 42% of hospitality companies allocating $1 million to $5 million to AI this year. Yet the industry remains cautious, with nearly 60% citing trust and accuracy concerns and more than 60% maintaining a human customer service stance to balance efficiency with personal touch. Leaders aim to seize AI-driven gains now to optimize staffing, automate repetitive tasks, and deliver scalable, data-driven customer experiences, while the more cautious weigh risks and integration challenges in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Inside the Tech Powering Next-Gen Hotel Experiences
Multilingual AI chatbots in hotels provide seamless communication by supporting multiple languages like Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic, and English, enabling instant, personalized responses. These chatbots use NLP and machine learning to understand context, remember guest preferences, and interact dynamically across platforms such as websites, mobile apps, and messaging services. They effectively break down language barriers, offer 24/7 service, including room service requests and local recommendations, and integrate with hotel management systems to personalize guest experiences. This technology fosters stronger guest connections by delivering timely, culturally sensitive support that feels both efficient and welcoming, ultimately elevating the hospitality experience beyond traditional static concierge services.
AI-powered agents can take over routine tasks like check-in, key card activation, luggage guidance, and answering common questions about the hotel’s location. This helps reduce delays during busy periods and allows human staff to focus on more complex issues, resolving conflicts, and providing the personal touch where emotional intelligence matters most.
In a competitive landscape where guests often choose based on tech‑forward amenities, having a humanoid AI agent in the lobby is as much a branding statement as it is a service tool. These AI agents become part of the guest’s story, filmed in social feeds, mentioned in reviews, and remembered long after checkout. That organic visibility acts as free marketing, helping properties stand out without costly media buys.
How can hoteliers prepare for this shift?
Successfully integrating humanoid AI technology into hotel operations isn’t about buying a robot and putting it in the lobby. It’s a strategic process that demands planning, infrastructure upgrades, and cultural readiness across the organization. Done properly, the transition is smoother, the tech works as promised, and the guest experience improves rather than feeling like a gimmick.
Audit staffing and workflow realities. Start with a granular look at your current guest journey, from pre‑arrival to checkout. Which processes are bottlenecks? Which interactions do guests complain about most? Which tasks eat up the most staff time without adding much perceived value? These are the prime candidates for automation. Mapping this out also helps protect human‑touch moments: the warm welcome, the problem‑solving conversation, the unique local recommendation. By designing for collaboration between humans and machines from day one, you avoid both redundancy and service gaps.
Upgrade the technology backbone. Even the most advanced humanoid AI will stumble if it’s sitting on weak infrastructure. Future‑ready hotels need: High‑bandwidth Wi‑Fi and network resilience to handle constant data exchange between AI agents, PMS platforms, and cloud AI engines. Enterprise‑grade cybersecurity to protect guest data and comply with GDPR or equivalent regulations. Integration capability so AI agents can access live reservation details, room availability, billing systems, and loyalty program data for contextual conversations and actions. Hotels should also consider deploying edge‑computing solutions where applicable to reduce latency in high‑volume guest interactions.
Testing innovations, tracking impact, and evolving strategies. Rolling out humanoid AI should be similar to launching a new service brand: test it in one property or one department first. Monitor not just technical performance, but also guest reaction, staff satisfaction, and ROI. Refine the AI agent’s scripts, workflows, and integrations before expanding. In a hospitality context, “working” doesn’t just mean the AI agent functions; it means guests feel their experience has improved.
Train staff for a human‑AI partnership. Employees need to know how to work alongside a humanoid AI agent, from redirecting guests to letting the AI agent handle certain queries to troubleshooting on the spot. The right training reframes AI agents from competitors to colleagues that lift low‑value workload off their shoulders. This engagement is critical to adoption and to avoiding silent resistance from frontline teams.
Position it as a guest‑facing innovation. Don’t let AI agents feel hidden or awkward. Feature them proudly in marketing. Promote them on your hotel’s website and social media. Encourage guests to interact, take a selfie, ask it a question, and use it for local tips. The more it’s embraced as part of the brand rather than a back‑office experiment, the more positive buzz it generates.
Forward-thinking hoteliers are starting to see AI agents not as replacements, but as essential partners in enhancing the human-centric nature of hospitality. As this technology continues to evolve, the strategic deployment of humanoid AI will become critical for properties looking to exceed rising guest expectations and carve out a competitive edge. The challenge and opportunity lie in finding the right balance between cutting-edge innovation and the irreplaceable personal touch that travelers still value deeply. In this evolving landscape, the hotels that thrive will be those that weave AI seamlessly alongside genuine human connection, creating experiences that feel both remarkably efficient and authentically welcoming.
Filip Linek is the founder & CEO of FLAE Robotics and owner of PECR hotel complex in Czech Republic. The company focuses on using artificial intelligence to automate processes and enhance the guest experience — including the development of a humanoid receptionist. With a strong background in hotel operations, Linek created BE-A, the AI-powered humanoid receptionist. He is also an experienced entrepreneur and investor in real estate and hospitality tech.
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