- Maldron Hotel Newcastle doubled room service revenue with ButlerBot W3
- Robot delivers room service and amenities independently navigating hotel
- Tim Healy provided voice recording for Anna Bot as regular guest
- Technology frees staff to remain in bar and restaurant areas
- Guests can opt for lower-contact experiences through digital ordering
Maldron Hotel Newcastle has doubled its room service revenue after introducing robotic technology, with assistance from Tyneside actor Tim Healy. The Newgate Street hotel became the first in England to introduce the ButlerBot W3, an autonomous service robot which delivers room service and guest amenities directly to bedrooms. The robot, affectionately known as Anna Bot, now features the voice of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Benidorm star Tim Healy.
Since introducing the robot provided by North East company Spark Robotics, the hotel has seen its room service revenue double while freeing up team members to spend more time looking after guests in the hotel’s bar and restaurant. Anna Bot has become a real part of the hotel and guests absolutely love the robot. What started as an innovative way of delivering room service developed into something which genuinely supports the team, improves the guest experience and has had a measurable impact on revenue.
The ButlerBot W3 independently navigates the hotel, communicates with the lifts to travel between floors and links with the hotel’s bedroom telephone system. When it reaches a guest’s room, a very familiar voice calls them to let them know their order has arrived. Tim Healy recorded the voice as a regular guest at the hotel through support for his charity Sunday for Sammy. Along with food and drink orders, Anna Bot can deliver additional guest amenities such as towels and toiletries, allowing the hotel team to respond quickly to requests without having to leave other areas of the operation.
Anna Wadcock shared “Anna Bot has become a real part of the hotel and guests absolutely love her. The important thing for us has always been that technology should support our people, not replace them. The funniest moment is probably when Tim stays with us, orders room service and ends up answering the phone to himself.”
Eric Guo shared “Our aim is to help organisations identify where robots can support those tasks in real working environments.”
