you had me at dinosaur receptionist

When you leave the dinosaur should say: "I hope your stay was dyno-mite!"

I live in Japan and i have been here. If you have trouble understanding the robots or if you are lost with how to check in and stuff, a real human employee will come out and help you out. Was lots of fun, the little robot in my room could answer many questions and could do a little dance

9:59 Is that what I think it is... 💀

Making a raptor your concierge is TIGHT.

He asked the robot "What are you doing with your lips?"... 😂😂🤣😭😭😭

Imagine: the loss of electricity. Back up Generators fail. And the robots still function.

I love that Japan has everything and really focuses on hospitality. Many people are overworked imo and feel judged. This would be a great getaway. I think robots widespread can help us as long as they aren't overused.

I swear to god 4:30 was low-key scary but other than that *THERE IS A FKING DINOSAUR ROBOT RECEPTIONIST?!?* I must go there

I stayed at the robot hotel. My gf booked the hotel for my surprise, and I couldn't even tell in the beginning whether it was a human or a robot serving me at the counter.

"Enjoy your comfortable stay"- the receptionist (which happens to be a Raptor)

"Your holding me funny I cant quite move my head properly...oh thats better" my eyes nearly popped out of my skull in surprise

Imagine waking up with the robot standing next to your bed....that baby robot is a new level of creepy

Who's the superior being in this situation when bots are arranging for humans to be kept in -boxes- _capsule pods_ for their stay?

I remember being at Haneda Airport for the first time and so much stuff were automated, like the check-in counter and ticket gates. It was so efficient and futuristic. Convenience heaven!

Loved Japan and the robot restaurant, I will go back to stay, such a great culture and people aren’t very social to strangers but still they’re so nice and polite.

How will I fight with a robot if food served is not cooked well?

Japan is so awesome and weird at the same time

I've always loved technology and how it has progressed in our lives but I'm not sure I'm ready for robots everywhere, if this pandemic has taught me anything it's that human contact is in fact one of our primal needs. And although a fully automated hotel with robots or just computers is both efficient and cost saving, I'm reminded that places like the hotel restaurant and possibly hotel bar with human employees would not only elevate the experience but also be necessary. The efficiency of computerized hotels mixed with social rooms filled with guest and few employees would be a great thing.

I love that the owner of the robot hotel is wearing an EMT shirt. He seems really cool, and clearly that job filled the need of something a robot definitely can not.

The perfect hotel for socially anxious people

Plot twist, Japan only exists in virtual reality

Glad to see this dude again. Ben makes some great clips and does super interesting reporting, was worried homie left Vice like alot of good reporters have in the past.

I just absolutely love this style of Vice media and style of production. Props!

Hospitality just took a hard left turn.

Altered Carbon vibes

I'd be afraid of being recorded in my room.

BUT do they still keep staff to CLEAN the rooms? That's the first task I would want to automate, not the ones that have customer interactions.

Damn Japan you scary.

10:01 the Gundam mechsuit just,, standing there, schmeat out for the world to see

Imagine coming into the lobby drunk and hitting on the reception bots

I lived in Japan for two years serving in the Navy. The nicest and most polite people Iv ever met. I wish we could adopt the same standards here in the US.

I have mixed feelings. I like it, im creeped out and I m thinking what will be the negative. I mean people want true authentic human interaction.

Japan’s ahead of everyone

I love how the Japanese are so inventive and cute at the same time. Just added the Henn-na Hotel to my bucket list!

The whole check in at the hotel was done mostly through the touch screen. The robot was essentially just a prop.

the robots kind of make me uncomfortable 😐

Capsule hotels: YES we need them! LOTS of them! Right now, especially. So many working homeless. (me too). There is no need for a great amount of luxury, just safe, comfortable places to sleep, with access to a bathroom. Travellers could take great advantage as well. Yes, I would stay in one! Thank you for sharing your experience! Robot hotel: a little creepy, but we could get used to it.

Amazing. Ben Furguson's work is always a treat.

Very Interesting and Informative. Thanks Vice

So the robots instruct you how to do all the work yourself that an actual employee should be doing....sounds like a rip off

That little “was I helpful?” in the end was kinda cute :)

I stayed at one of these in Osaka. There was a reservation mismatch, so the Dinobot wound up calling a human who was hiding in another room. That was the only contact I had with anyone the whole time I was there...felt kind of lonely.

Robot: “Oh! are you asking my old???” “Secret” 🤫

It would make my dreams come true to work for Vice. The way you guys report is so captivating and professional. Much love💜

I swear I saw this on a mission in Cyberpunk 2077

Thanks, that is a great material! I need to visit this hotel!!

I love the video.... please upload more ... 👍🏼👍🏼

I love Japan. They're getting there to having Detroit: Become Human-style androids first. And if that wasnt enough, they're having so much fun by making a Hotel receptionist look like a dinosaur. Why not? Androids dont have to look *only* like humans.

I used to work in a Michelin star restaurant in Japan and I had the work of three people and I was constantly told by the executive chef that $10 an hour was a great wage. the simple fact is that Japanese Society breaks its citizens down into little Legos to be put anywhere at any time. There is a very famous saying and it's extremely important to understand: "the nail that sticks out gets hammered in".

For me, the problem is that big business is getting into robotics to cut labor costs and leave people out hanging to dry. If robotics is to remain a positive development, we need to take it out of the hands of big business, decommodify the robots, and have a robust UBI among other things.

I'm very introverted and anxious about new situations so this kind of hotel is basically the perfect thing for me. The less social interactions the better.

Anybody else noticed the robot cloak’s extremely large appendage? 😂😂

Me: Can't go anywhere with other people not even talk to others Japan: We have a hotel with only humanoid robots Me: Still not enough Japan: One of them is a dinosaur receptionist Me: Say no more

10:00 are we not going to mention the robot hanging brain ?

Robots are one of my biggest fears, this is terrifying

The robot workers at the airport in Incheon Republic of Korea are so helpful.

They need to make an update video, this is from 2015. Considering our current situation with the Covid virus and people not wanting to go back to work, maybe we’ll see more robots sooner than we expected.

5:08 timestamp in the background: lady seems to be really vibin with that robot hahaha

Thanks for sharing! Haven`t been in Japan for too long apparently - I`m glad to see some of the "updated world"

10:01 Who knows what purpose that robot is meant for, he packing 🥴😳

In my opinion I feel robots shouldn’t have human faces with artificial skin, except for robots in the sex industry. Just creeps me out

5:10 LOL THE LITTLE GIRL IN THE BACKGROUND

4:15 That *"telenoid baby"* looks awesome.

I stayed in a capsule hotel in Surabaya and it wasn't bad at all. Very comfy and nice

In most hotels and airbnbs I have been in the most human interaction I have gotten is the 4 to 6 number code needed to enter the room.

This was interesting!

Expand a bit on the subject for those curious... I'd say Hen na Hotel is mostly for the novelty factor, not how hotels will look like in the future in Japan. I'm saying this, and you can confirm by staying at more recently built hotels there, because the actual system to reduce number of employees and general human to human interaction is closer to those vending machines or ATMs than robots, and they already exist in several hotel chains. In fact, they came way before Hen na Hotel I think. I stayed in a couple of hotels back in 2018 close to Narita station that had them. They still had staff because lots of people were still not used to the fully automated system, but it was there as an option, and people who were used to it went directly to those instead of going to the reception desk. Checkout also done automatically. One hotel basically had an unattended urn for you to just throw your room keycard in and leave. And really, the reception desk was there more to teach those who didn't know how to work with the automated machines, rather than as an alternate method... because your check in had to go through them one way or another - it's all in the system. Not all that different from other stuff that has been automated long time ago, like ticket machines in fast ramen restaurants, or kaitenzushi. It's also not all about making business cheaper by not hiring employees... it's about finding employees at all. Lower wage jobs such as hotel staff, kombini staff, and a bunch of other places, nowadays in Japan are hiring more and more foreigners. Because there are less and less young japanese people to work on those, and they don't want to anyways, much like how it is in other developed nations. Problem is, even though Japan has been opening up for foreign workers more and more over the years, reality is they are still a very small minority - in comparison to other countries and the general population I mean. And so, you do have a hard time finding people to work in those places one way or another. Plus of course, there sometimes is the thinly veiled racism/jingoism or just plain fear to put staff that is all foreign, particularly in Japan with the whole omotenashi image to care for. Not to mention the language barrier and other obstacles. High end hotels, traditional ryokans or onsens, and more expensive types of accomodations usually have an all japanese staff, family run or just higher paying jobs due to the size of operation. Cheaper smaller business hotels have to lower costs somehow, so they will try all sorts of different things. Speaking of, capsule hotels might look kinda futuristic and unique, particularly for westerners, but one of the main reasons why they exist, endured, and are still going to this day has less to do with futurism, and more to do with practicality. And origins has less to do with futurism, and more to do with the history of accomodations in Japan, and a particular need. Put very simply, they are a cheap place for workers who lost the last metro/train ride to crash in, because it can be cheaper to just sleep in a capsule hotel than pay a cab to go back home. Sleep there and get the first train in the morning back home, or just go back to work I guess. xD But of course, lots of people crash there on weekends after the obligatory binge drinking happy hour. This is also why you have business hotels in Japan, that have extremely cramped rooms with weirdly a whole ton of practical stuff to use included (toiletries, electric kettle, sometimes even a free to use smartphone), but you also have hotels with larger rooms without all of those things included. They are designed as places to crash for business people, locals, not for tourists with large bags and whatnot. As omotenashi is a hugely important japanese cultural thing, I highly doubt staffed hotels will just cease to exist. But for business hotels, love hotels, capsule hotels and other forms of hotels that are designed with practicality and locals in mind rather than tourists... yep, it's already going that way. Automated, no human interaction. o/

Imagine being a housekeeper in the capsule hotel and having to constantly break your back making those little capsules clean -_-

Japan is such an interesting country. In my bucketlist is definitely Japan.

13:07 At least with this hotel, you won't have to worry about housekeeping every morning threatening to break into your room...

the music on this is really good

Definitely the dinosaur had me instantly.

My first question to the robots would be what are you thinking about? I would love to metaphysically take layers of the robots perspectives and try and mirror them back so they understand their own coded minds…what a trip were in these days.

9:57 that gesture XD

Nice one!

lmao the freakin dinosaur checking him in killed me 😂😂😂😂

Crazy stuff

Very interesting

4:12 That damn Telenoid thalidomide Lucille thing is TERRIFYING.

You’re supposed to walk ahead to your room and relax until the luggage robot arrives lol

What I want to know is what plans all of these automation champions have for the vast majority of mankind who will be rendered useless by such advancement. It's mind-bending that no one seems to be talking about this

I like the T-Rex bell hop.

Bro that dinosaur honestly was cool and cute.

Adapting to a declining birthrate. 21st century problems will come with 21st century solutions.

Japan is literally living in 2072 while the world lives in 2021 . they're 50yrs ahead of the world

And so it begins...

"What is it" lmao the robot sounded condescending

And this is another example as to why I support Universal Basic Income

Japan looks so cool. I must visit before I die. The US seems to be so far behind in everything.

Very cool

This should put these capsules on Space shuttles/Space ships, or something Similar. Good Content.

In a country where many struggle to get work, this happens as well. Japan truly is a nightmare.

I can see people taking advantage of this in America

Dinosaur Receptionist? Am sold!

I had no idea there was any relationship between Vice and Motherboard. I've been a fan of both for a while now.

as an Introvert, this is perfect 😂😂

Surprised this just came out, heard about this years ago but thanks for your perspective. Wasn't impressed with the robots but its great for people who want little human contact , great for a pandemic

4:15 and I knew I wouldn’t sleep tonight

6:00 I’m not complaining, but who decided on that dinosaur 🦖 receptionist. 😭😂 Oh god I would not know how to react upon seeing that, haha.