Use cases : Restaurants & Hotels

Offer your customers a modern, seamless, and enjoyable experience with intelligent robotic solutions that take care of everything: meal preparation, accurate delivery, and space maintenance.

By automating these tasks, you significantly reduce wait times while offering even more responsive and personalized service - which, of course, skyrockets customer satisfaction!

The hospitality and food service (H&R) sector is facing significant challenges that have spurred the adoption of innovations, particularly service robotics, to improve operational efficiency and the customer experience.

Sector Context and Challenges

The H&R sector has historically faced major problems, which have been exacerbated by the health crisis

• Labor Shortage:The French restaurant industry is facing widespread recruitment difficulties. In France, the Union of Hospitality Trades and Industries(UMIH) reported approximately 200,000 vacant positions in Spring/Summer 2025, with increased difficulties for seasonality and retention. The COVID-19 crisis pushed 83% of restaurateurs to review their recruitment strategy.
• Work Overload and Health:The lack of staff results in team burnout, costly overtime, and turning away customers. Employees are faced with strenuous tasks, particularly carrying heavy loads, which leads to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
• Competitiveness and Innovation:Restaurants are looking for concrete levers to serve better and faster, without sacrificing the soul of the service. Innovation inhospitality and food service is considered the key to success. Robotics and Automation in Service of Hospitality, The integration of server robots and mechanical assistants has become a promising solution and a strategic investment for the sector.

Roles and Benefits of Server Robots

Robots are designed to be operational teammates or mechanized complements for repetitive tasks, allowing human staff to focus on hospitality.

•       Main Tasks:They excel in "portage" (carrying), transporting plates, delivering dishes and drinks, clearing tables (bussing), and escorting customers to their table. The uServe robot, for example, can carry up to 40 kg, reducing the physical load on staff.

•       Efficiency Gains for Staff: By relieving staff of micro-trips (low-value-added tasks), robots allow servers to stay in their zone and focus on welcoming, advising, and customer relations.  

·       A documented pilot study showed an average reduction of 428 steps per server per service. Additionally, robots contribute to a significant decrease in overtime hours.

•       Improved Customer Experience: Robots, like the BellaBot with its cat design, add a little show that attracts customers' attention, especially children. This generates a "wow" effect that can be a vector for attractiveness and word-of-mouth.

·       Furthermore, contactless delivery minimizes health concerns, a key post-pandemic advantage.

• Types of Robots:

•       ◦ Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs)(e.g., BellaBot, U-Serve, DinerBot, uServe): They use advanced sensors (LIDAR, visual SLAM) to navigate and avoid obstacles, planning their own routes.

•       ◦ Rail-Based Systems (High-speed train): These systems use fixed rails to ensure fast(in 3 seconds) and stable delivery, unaffected by terrain or traffic, maximizing seating capacity and efficiency in limited or multi-story spaces.

Costs and Return on Investment (ROI)

The initial investment in robots can be high (between $15,000 and $50,000 USD for some models). However, the long-term return on investment is deemed wise, thanks to reduced labor costs and improved efficiency.

•       Purchase costs are generally between €10,000 and €21,000 (excl. tax) for models like the PuduBot/BellaBot/KettyBot.

•       Leasing options (Robot as a service) exist, such as uServe starting from €18 per day (or €430 per month for a 3-year commitment).

•       •Financial gains come from avoided overtime, reduced breakage, and the potential increase in the number of tables served during peak times.

The Human Factor and the Limits of Robotics 

Despite the efficiency of machines, technology must be balanced with human hospitality.

•       The Human Role is Crucial:Humans are irreplaceable for welcoming, taking into account emotions, personalized recommendations, crisis management, and creating authentic connections. Customers love the "tables id theater" and the smile. 

•       Redefinition of Jobs: Task automation frees up staff, allowing them to evolve their roles towards the quality of customer relations, which is more rewarding and meets customer expectations.

•       Acceptance and Clear Role: Customer acceptance of robots is high if the role is simple: the robot carries, the human serves. One restaurateur noted that the robot is a support solution, and should not be seen as a total replacement, as human contact remains essential.

•       Limits of Technology:

•       AMRs encounter difficulties in complex or crowded environments. The lack of human contact can make the experience"cold and impersonal" in high-end establishments.

Hospitality Trends Beyond Robotics

The accommodation sector is also evolving under the influence of the search for new experiences and the transformation of work patterns.

•       Transformation of Accommodation Uses: The hotel industry must reinvent its attractiveness by reviewing the use of its spaces. The Smart Hotel trend is transforming the hotel industry by digitizing tasks to make customer relations more efficient and offer new experiences.

•       Immersive and Conceptual Experiences:Increased competition, especially from home delivery players, is forcing food service venue managers to offer other reasons to go out, such as immersive restaurants, exceptional settings (rooftops), or a conceptual approach. Examples include the Under the Sea (Ephemera) restaurant or the Hôtel Paradiso (Mk2).

•       Staycation and Workation: The staycation trend (re-engaging with local hospitality) became a mandatory practice during the pandemic and appeals to a certain clientele. It's coupled with the workation trend, which is reshaping regional offerings by developing coworking spaces in accommodation venues.

•       Quality and Sustainability: Atout France (the France Tourism Development Agency) oversees systems ensuring the quality of services offered, including the classification of tourist accommodations, and supports the co-construction of a higher-quality and more innovative tourism offering, taking sustainability into account.

In sum, hospitality and food service are laboratories of innovation, using technology, particularly robotics, as a lever to solve labor shortages and to enrich the customer experience, while trying to preserve human contact, which remains the fundamental value of service.

The integration of server robots is comparable to the arrival of a forklift in a warehouse: it does not replace the skilled operator, but it takes on the physical load and repetitive transport, allowing the human to concentrate on tasks that require judgment, creativity, and, in the case of food service, contact and hospitality.