Japanese robot hotel pulls plug on droid staff
More than half of the automated workforce has been fired following complaints

A Japanese hotel run by robots has “fired” more than half of its 243 droid staff after guests said they were inefficient and irritating.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the robots at Nagasaki-based hotel Henn na - a name that translates as “strange” or “weird” - frequently “created work rather than reduced it” and failed to do their jobs properly.
One guest told the US-based newspaper that he had been “roused every few hours” during his stay because a virtual assistant robot found in each room repeatedly asked: “Sorry, I couldn’t catch that. Can you repeat your request?”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It turned out that the robot, called Churi, was interpreting the guest’s snoring as voice commands.
Other customers complained that the Churi “dolls” would not stop talking and were difficult to understand, while some simply found them annoying, reports tech news site Gizmodo.
The virtual assistants were scrapped after the hotel’s management realised they were unable to answer basic questions or follow simple commands. Humanoid concierge robots also got the axe for the same reason.
Meanwhile, human staff “ended up working overtime to repair robots that stopped working”, says the Daily Mirror.
Henn na opened in 2015 and was certified by Guinness World Records the following year as the first hotel to be staffed by robots.
The travel company that owns it has since opened seven similar hotels across Japan, all with robots on the staff.
The chain’s president, Hideo Sawada, says he hasn’t given up on his dream of having hotels run by droids, but admits: “When you actually use robots you realise there are places where they aren’t needed - or just annoy people.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - April 18, 2025
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - El Salvador, political fundraising, and more
By The Week US
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures A sea of kites, a game of sand hockey, and more
By Anahi Valenzuela, The Week US
-
G20: Viola Davis stars in 'ludicrous' but fun action thriller
The Week Recommends The award-winning actress plays the 'swashbuckling American president' in this newly released Prime Video film
By The Week UK
-
Fake AI job seekers are flooding U.S. companies
In the Spotlight It's getting harder for hiring managers to screen out bogus AI-generated applicants
By Theara Coleman, The Week US
-
How might AI chatbots replace mental health therapists?
Today's Big Question Clients form 'strong relationships' with tech
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
What are AI hallucinations?
The Explainer Artificial intelligence is known for making things up – and that can cause real damage
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK
-
The backlash against ChatGPT's Studio Ghibli filter
The Explainer The studio's charming style has become part of a nebulous social media trend
By Theara Coleman, The Week US
-
Not there yet: The frustrations of the pocket AI
Feature Apple rushes to roll out its ‘Apple Intelligence’ features but fails to deliver on promises
By The Week US
-
OpenAI's new model is 'really good' at creative writing
Under the Radar CEO Sam Altman says he is impressed. But is this merely an attempt to sell more subscriptions?
By Theara Coleman, The Week US
-
Could artificial superintelligence spell the end of humanity?
Talking Points Growing technology is causing growing concern
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
Space-age living: The race for robot servants
Feature Meta and Apple compete to bring humanoid robots to market
By The Week US