Bengaluru, India's thriving tech hub, has once again solidified its reputation as a hotbed of innovation. Ananya Narang, CEO of Entourage, recently arrived at a Bengaluru hotel expecting a traditional check-in experience. Instead, she was astonished to discover that a virtual receptionist had replaced the front desk staff. Ms Narang shared the photo on LinkedIn and X, featuring the virtual receptionist on a laptop screen at the hotel's front desk, dubbing it a "Peak Bengaluru" moment.
Ms Narang explained that only two security guards and a handful of technicians are physically present at the hotel. Meanwhile, all guest interactions, from check-in to concierge services, are handled by trained hospitality professionals via video conferencing.
''Peak Bengaluru Moment – A Virtual Receptionist 🙂 Once I checked in, I realised the hotel had no staff except 2 security guards and 1-2 technicians. Everything was coordinated via trained hospitality staff sitting at their head office simultaneously managing multiple properties. You'll see this nowhere in India yet, except the Silicon Valley,'' the post was captioned.
See the post here:
The post has sparked a heated debate on social media. While some questioned whether technology can genuinely replicate the warmth of in-person service, others expressed concerns that such innovations will intensify job displacement fears. Meanwhile, some were simply intrigued.
One user said, ''Wow, that's amazing! I guess the hotel staff is now just a click away. Who needs a physical receptionist when you can have a virtual one? Welcome to the future of hospitality.''
Another person commented, ''While technology may seem amazing, hospitality cannot be expressed virtually. For me, this is more like a call centre executive who is following a script. Going this way, one can install a self-checkin kiosk or a robot. We need to understand Hospitality business is a human-centric business and cannot be expressed virtually. While one may be jumping technology, we need to remember the same technology can eat your job tomorrow.''
A third user said, ''Nice but this model is done in Europe and in the US where they outsource receptionists from countries like Vietnam and the Philippines and pay them 3-5$ per hour This might be a good option for Tier-2 or 3 hotels but for good hotels where they pay for service this may not work.''
A fourth added, ''People need to understand that the most crucial component of hospitality is the human connection. This is an example of shoehorning technology in a way that's not a good fit.''
