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Could COVID-19 boost use of robots in hotels?
New research asks the question if worries about COVID-19 will spur investment and utilization of robots for service functions in the hotel industry, according to Science Daily.
The adoption of robotics is not a foregone conclusion, however.
“Results showed that while service robots are anticipated to increase efficiency and productivity of hotel activities, they may also pose challenges such as high costs, skill deficits and significant changes to the organizational structure and culture of hotels,” according to Science Daily.
Work from home becoming the norm
More and more white-collar companies are pushing out their return-to-office dates, with some delaying returns years or even making work-from-home a permanent thing, The New York Times reports.
“Google and Facebook employees were told Thursday that they could stay home until next year,” according to the newspaper. “Capital One informed 40,000 workers that they will be out through Labor Day and possibly longer. Amazon is saying October. Nationwide Insurance is moving more aggressively than other firms, shuttering five offices around the country and having its 4,000 employees telecommute permanently.”
Priceline investing in digital initiatives
Priceline, which is part of Booking Holdings, is stepping up its investments in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and software development, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In a period where other companies are pulling back on IT investments, Priceline is “accelerating its move toward Google Cloud and expects about 40% of its applications to be in the cloud by the end of the year. The goal for both initiatives is to increase the speed at which developers can design, develop and deploy code to push out features and functions,” the newspaper reports.
Compiled by Sean McCracken.