Is Japan's 'unmanned' hospitality dehumanizing, or a selling point?

Absence of human factor can be an attraction for younger generations

Henn na Hotel Ginza.jpeg

Service with a (robotic) smile: Androids greet guests at the Henn na Hotel in Tokyo's Ginza district. (From Henn na Hotel's website)

GWEN ROBINSON

It was only when I clicked the "payment" button on a hard-gained hotel reservation for a weekend in Fukuoka, gateway to Japan's western main island of Kyushu, that I noticed the small print: "We are an unmanned business hotel."

Unmanned? I had missed that little word. I wasn't even sure what "unmanned" really meant. And anyway, in this gender-sensitive day and age, shouldn't it be "unpersonned"? And did this mean NO human staff at all? Would there be anyone to help with luggage or check-in problems? Either way, I had already signed up and paid. I could have canceled -- but then, I thought, this could be the time to leap into the automated world. And I was curious.

Sponsored Content

About Sponsored ContentThis content was commissioned by Nikkei's Global Business Bureau.