The ‘hugely unpopular’ hotel feature being introduced at thousands of resorts
A NEW feature being rolled out across hotels is dividing opinion – with many people not a fan.
Newer hotels are jumping onboard the smart tech trend, adding modern features to make things “easier”.
This can include tablets to control the lighting and the temperature, or phone apps to unlock doors and control the TV.
And some hotels are even rolling out robots for housekeeping and service.
While these hope to make things more streamlined in rooms, many guests have said they hate the complication it brings.
Travel writer Amy explained in the New York Times called the new tech “infuriating and overwhelming”.
She experienced the problems herself when returning to her hotel room.
She said: “I returned from dinner, jet lagged and a tad tipsy, to discover that a television set inside a bathroom mirror had been turned on during turndown service.
“I pressed all of the buttons on the wall panel and then tried the switches on a control box next to the bed. Nothing.”
She said she ended up calling up the receptionist, only to also have no idea how to turn the bathroom lights off – resorting to wearing an eye mask instead,
She isn’t the only person to find them complicated.
Jill Weinberg, 67, said: “I used to walk into a hotel room and relax – now it is a job to figure out how to use the lights and switch off the television.
“Here is an entirely new system to waste mental energy upon every single time I travel.”
While many hotels are leaning into smart tech and AI, others have said human interaction is still important.
Four Seasons executive vice president Marc Speichert told Skift: “That human nature of the brand is incredibly important, and so there’s absolutely zero intent to automate interactions.”
It’s not the only hotel feature people hate.
Glass bathroom cubicles are becoming more and more common in hotel rooms now, even though everybody seems to hate them.