"Your check-in is now complete."
The guest shared her experience at the Henn na Hotel—which translates to “Strange Hotel”—in a viral TikTok that has reached nearly a million iviews.
“The receptionists are robots,” the woman, who posts under the handle @manuenalemania, says in the clip.
The footage shows humanoid mannequin-type machines standing behind the reception counter, dressed in white uniforms and 50's style pillbox hats.
She reacts anxiously to one of the robots greeting her with a blank stare, stating repeatedly, “Don’t look at me, don’t look at me, don’t look at me.”
Henn na Hotel is known for using robotic technology to streamline guest services. The chain, which launched its first location in Nagasaki, now operates more than 20 branches across Japan. Some locations are staffed by humanoid robots, while others feature animatronic dinosaurs.
The hotel also offers advanced technology such as interactive holograms and RoBoHoN, a mobile robotic assistant.
“You scare me a lot,” she tells the robot while checking in. After scanning her passport and entering her stay dates into an automated kiosk, she receives a room key card.
The interaction ends with a robot announcing, “Your check-in is now complete. We hope you have a delightful stay at our hotel,” before bowing.
The gesture prompts the guest to shout, “Ay noooooooo!!”
Online commenters expressed discomfort with the robotic staff. “You study hospitality for this,” one person wrote, criticizing the displacement of human workers. Others compared the setting to a scene from the science fiction series “Black Mirror.”
Despite its high-tech image, the Henn na chain has faced big setbacks. According to The Travel, the company previously “furloughed” over half of its 240 robotic workers due to performance issues and guest dissatisfaction.
A shift back to human labor was required to address problems caused by the robots themselves.
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