KT Launches AI Hotel Service at ‘Henna Hotel Seoul Myeongdong’

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] KT announced on the 2nd that it will introduce AI hotel services at ‘Henna Hotel Seoul Myeongdong,’ the first domestic branch of the Japanese hotel chain ‘Henna Hotel,’ famous for its robot hotel concept.

Henna Hotel is a hotel launched in 2015 by H.I.S, a comprehensive travel agency in Japan. It is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world’s first hotel where robots work as staff. KT, which provides AI hotel services under the Hyatt and Marriott brands, has been recognized for its multilingual functions such as Chinese and Japanese since 2019, and will introduce AI hotel services in line with Henna Hotel’s entry into Seoul.

Accordingly, KT will be responsible for contactless services within the rooms of Henna Hotel Seoul Myeongdong through the newly revamped UI/UX applied to the ‘Giga Genie Hotel Mini’ device, based on voice commands. With the KT AI Hotel’s ‘Giga Genie Hotel’ device, guests can control room features such as lighting, TV, and heating/cooling with a single voice command. Additionally, guests can request amenity items and concierge services, and enjoy unlimited content from Genie Music.

Furthermore, KT introduced customer-friendly services considering the simple and compact room structure unique to Japanese hotels like Henna Hotel. With just one Giga Genie Hotel Mini device, KT included not only the previously provided service request functions but also a call function. Through this, guests can freely communicate with the front desk or other rooms within Henna Hotel Seoul Myeongdong without a separate telephone.

Im Chae-hwan, Executive Director of KT AI & DX Platform Business Division, said, “We are pleased to introduce KT AI Hotel services to Henna Hotel, famous as the first robot hotel combining advanced technology and entertainment features,” and added, “Going forward, KT AI Hotel services will continue to discover new services for guests by integrating KT’s platform technology with hotel industry trends.”