Earlier this month, the world’s best-known robot hotel decided to get rid of over half of its mechanical workforce. The Henn-na Hotel in Japan fired 123 robots after they failed to carry out basic tasks and started annoying customers.
The hotel in Japan’s Nagasaki Prefecture began by removing all the doll-shaped Churi advisers from each of the hotel rooms after guests complained she wasn't even able to answer simple questions. The dinosaur receptionists who were responsible for check-in also got the boot when they couldn't handle the task of photocopying guest passports. And the hotel’s baggage robots were shown the door as they only seemed able to function when the weather outside was perfect.
Despite these mechanical problems, Henn-na Hotel is keeping the rest of its robot staff who'll work alongside humans for a smoother guest experience. And there are plenty of other hotels around the world where robots are also on the roster.
FlyZoo Hotel, China
At the recently opened AI-powered FlyZoo hotel in Hangzhou, the experience is very much a machine-fuelled one. Guests register at the self check-in machine where a scan of each person's face is taken. That's then used as facial recognition to allow guests access to their rooms, the elevators and the health and fitness suites. In each of the rooms, a tiny robot butler called Tmall Genie can close the curtains, turn on the television or order room service. Owned by the ecommerce group Alibaba, guests can also shop by using an app to take pictures of things that they like the look of in the hotel, and they'll be delivered and waiting for them to purchase upon checkout.
Hotel Jen by Shangri-La, Singapore
The Shangri-La's Jen Singapore hotels have two robots on staff, one at each of its properties in the Lion City. Jeno and Jena live in the hotel lobby and are dressed in blue and pink tuxedos. They keep themselves busy delivering room service to guests, whether that's dinner, towels or buckets of ice. Fitted with sensors so that they avoid obstacles, the robots move at 2.5 kilometres per hour and have helpful information panels directing customers on how to get their goods from them when they arrive at the room door.
Radisson Blu Edwardian Vanderbilt, United Kingdom
In London’s South Kensington, the Radisson Blu Edwardian Vanderbilt is a Grade-II listed townhouse that’s making use of AI to keep it firmly in the future. Guests staying here can make friends with Edward, the hotel’s chatbot. Once you have his digits, send Edward a text and he’ll be ready to help with anything from room service requests to what the weather’s going to be like. Edward is the perfect texter — he’s always online and responds almost instantly to your messages. He can also get the hotel’s human staff to do something for you or give you a call if you'd rather speak to a person.
Ubergossene Alm Resort, Austria
A robot might be the last thing you’d expect to find in Austria’s valleys but at the foot of Mount Hochkonig in the town of Dienten, Pepper the robot is a proud employee at the Ubergossene Alm Resort. Usually situated at reception, Pepper wears a traditional Austrian dirndl dress and is always on hand to greet guests and recommend excursions or events. She's even been known to crack a few jokes or keep little guests amused with her entertainment.
Hotel EMC2, Chicago
Cleo and Leo live in Chicago’s Hotel EMC2. Dubbed an ‘art and science’ boutique hotel, the two on-call robots look sharp in their silver jackets and are always ready to help customers out by bringing whatever they need right to their hotel room. If you’ve forgotten your toothbrush, Cleo can bring you one. If you need room service, place your order and wait for Leo to deliver it. You can even ask the robots to 'surprise you' and will get something that the robot thinks you might need - which can be anything from a do not disturb sign to a free voucher for breakfast.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Bib%20Gourmand%20restaurants
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Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
Teams
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
On sale now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Kibsons%20Cares
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THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Most match wins on clay
Guillermo Vilas - 659
Manuel Orantes - 501
Thomas Muster - 422
Rafael Nadal - 399 *
Jose Higueras - 378
Eddie Dibbs - 370
Ilie Nastase - 338
Carlos Moya - 337
Ivan Lendl - 329
Andres Gomez - 322
