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A Marriott hotels pilot is
replacing desk clerks with
automated kiosks

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Posted By: AltaD, 4/6/2021 4:26:53 PM

Desk clerks are poised to become the latest coronavirus casualty at some Marriott hotels. The world’s biggest hotel chain said it is testing automated kiosks equipped with touch screens that can check in guests and spit out room keys, as well as giant vending machines it calls “grab-and-go marketplaces” that can dispense everything from coffee to breakfast sandwiches and cereal.(Snip)Marriott said the so-called “contactless arrival kiosks” are meant to ease customers’ fears about getting COVID-19 by interacting with hotel staff. As such, they are equipped with “antimicrobial technology baked into the touchscreen glass, powered by UV light to kill bacteria and viruses,” Marriott said in a Monday press release.

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Reply 1 - Posted by: AltaD 4/6/2021 4:31:40 PM (No. 746653)
They claim customers want this, I assume it's a cost-cutting move. Whatever the reason for the change, they're eliminating a layer of security by replacing the front desk staff with a kiosk.
23 people like this.

Reply 2 - Posted by: Cindiana 4/6/2021 4:39:36 PM (No. 746658)
#1 makes an excellent point! I would not feel safe walking in a lobby where it's known that no human is on duty. This is outrageously dangerous! Any creep can make himself comfortable in the lobby looking at a newspaper or phone....carefully scoping out a target. A victim could be forced into the elevator and up to a room, with only an unmonitored camera possibly catching the activity.
17 people like this.

Reply 3 - Posted by: Ida Lou Pino 4/6/2021 5:00:20 PM (No. 746670)
And drones will carry your bags up to your room. But don't leave a cheap tip for the drones - - or they're liable to buzz into your face.
4 people like this.

Reply 4 - Posted by: volksford 4/6/2021 5:14:27 PM (No. 746682)
Good news for the hookers...kiosks are don't ask don't tell.
13 people like this.

Reply 5 - Posted by: clipped wings 4/6/2021 5:31:17 PM (No. 746703)
Years ago, I stayed in a hotel that had a check-in kiosk. I’d received a code by email. Never, in three days did I see live staff , except for a sleepy “security guard “. A bit spooky.
9 people like this.

Reply 6 - Posted by: DVC 4/6/2021 5:33:02 PM (No. 746707)
I was a Marriott Gold Card holder.....but decided never to stay there again after their political antics.
9 people like this.

Reply 7 - Posted by: Vesicant 4/6/2021 5:40:25 PM (No. 746716)
And if anything goes wrong (not that it possibly could), you can call Marriott customer service and listen to an IVR play music at you for six hours.
11 people like this.

Reply 8 - Posted by: RuckusTom 4/6/2021 6:20:46 PM (No. 746755)
Raise that minimum wage to $1,000,000 an hour before these desk clerks a laid off so they can retire to a sunny island of their choosing.
3 people like this.

Reply 9 - Posted by: DARling 4/6/2021 6:26:47 PM (No. 746765)
Between COVID and cost concerns, we need not ever see another clerk, cook or just humans in general. We can buy burgers from a kiosk, have groceries delivered and for fun, put on virtual reality glasses. People are getting used to isolation and not having to deal with incompetent help and the drama they create. A kiosk won't be a no-show on a busy workday.
4 people like this.

Reply 10 - Posted by: Bur Oak 4/6/2021 6:39:41 PM (No. 746778)
In the drive to eliminate humans both you and I will be eliminated.
10 people like this.

Reply 11 - Posted by: enemyofthestate 4/6/2021 8:29:15 PM (No. 746875)
Marriott Bonvoy member here. Marriott does this and my business goes elsewhere.
3 people like this.

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