A video of a Chicago hotel’s unique form of high-tech room service has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was shared by Sarah A. VanVactor (@gogettersaraha) and has had 4.6 million views since it was posted on February 3. According to the post, the robot was spotted at the Aloft Chicago Mag Mile hotel in downtown Chicago.
A message overlaid on the video says: “I called room service for a toothbrush, look what arrived.”
The footage shows a robot standing outside the hotel room. The top cover of the robot, which looks similar to the R2-D2 character from the Star Wars film series, is shown to be open. A screen on the front of the robot says “Hello, please remove your items.”
A hand is seen reaching into the opening, which appears to be filled with lollipops. The person grabs what appears to be a packet of toothpaste and a toothbrush seen on top of the candy pile.
The robot in the latest clip is one of the Aloft hotel brand’s “Botlers,” robotic butlers which have reportedly been around since 2014.
These Botlrs can deliver various items, from toiletries and smartphone chargers to snacks, to hotel rooms in just minutes. When it arrives at the door, the hotel system reportedly alerts the guest in the room about it.
When TikTok user truthfactsphillip asked “did it knock? how did u know it was at the door?,” the original poster replied “The TV turned on and beeped!”
An October 2021 report published in the Boston Hospitality Review, the magazine of the Boston University School of Hospitality Administration, noted that the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic boosted the use of service robots in the hospitality industry to try to reduce the risk of infection via interactions with people.
The market size for service robots in the healthcare and hospitality sectors was projected to grow by $942 million during the 2020-2024 period, the report said.
‘The Cutest Thing I’ve Seen’
A caption shared with the latest viral post reads: “Lol [laugh out loud] not me talking to it.”
Giggling is heard in the background as a hand presses some buttons on the screen of the robot, including what appears to be a star rating, which sees the robot make a chirping noise before its top cover is automatically closed.
A voice is heard saying “bye” and waving at the robot, which makes a few more noises as it turns away from the door before the clip ends.
Users on TikTok adored the hotel robot in the latest viral clip.
Glitch White asked: “Why is the robot just adorable?”
Aca J Yaxley said: “That is the cutest thing I’ve seen.”
User chris <3 wrote: “I WANNA BE FRIENDS WITH HIM.”
WickedApple87 noted: “I love the happy chirps and lil dance when you give 5 stars.”
Newsweek has contacted the original poster via TikTok and emailed the hotel’s parent company Marriott for comment. This video has not been independently verified.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.