Alibaba is well known for its e-commerce platforms, but the Chinese tech giant has branched into fintech, film, new retail and now, hospitality. I recently stayed at Alibaba's futuristic FlyZoo hotel, which is adjacent to its headquarters in Hangzhou, China. Here, there are no keycards and everything is cashless. It features facial recognition doors, robotic arms at the bar and even robots that deliver items to guest rooms. Alibaba hopes the property will be a model for what a hotel of the future may look like. Upon arrival, I noticed the lobby was completely bare: no check-in counters, no concierge, and no receptionists. As a foreigner, however, I was quickly greeted by a staff member, who used a mobile device to take a photo of my passport and my face. Then she told me my room number and offered to email the receipt. Andy Wang, CEO of Alibaba Future Hotel, claims the data recognition information is only kept during the duration of the guests' stay and is not kept on record.
Property Technology Innovation Chatbots, Robotics & AI
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