South African Hotel Gets COVID-Safe Robot Staff

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Materials Daily News

Intermediate

Exercise 1

Vocabulary

automate

Verb

ˈɔːtəˌmeɪt

to use robots, computers, etc. instead of people to do something

Most aspects of the manufacturing process have been automated.

Spreadsheets allow me to automate many tasks.

interact

Verb

ˌɪntərˈækt

to communicate or be involved with someone or something

I interact with my manager on a regular basis.

The cafeteria is a good place for employees to relax and interact.

lobby

Noun

ˈlɑːbiː

a large open room inside the entrance of a hotel or public building

I'll meet you in the lobby.

room service

Noun

ruːm ˈsərvɪs

a hotel service that allows guests to order food and drinks to be brought to their rooms

We ordered room service for breakfast.

Room service is available at any time.

mild

Adjective

maɪld

not very strong, intense, etc.

I think you have a mild fever, but it's nothing serious.

The weather has been mild this winter.

reserve

Verb

rɪˈzərv

to ask for a place in a hotel, restaurant, plane etc. to be kept for use at a particular time

We called the restaurant to reserve a table.

We reserved the tickets online.

Exercise 2

Article

AI Generated Audio––:–– / ––:––

South African Hotel Gets COVID-Safe Robot Staff

A South African hotel now has robot staff that can safely help customers with symptoms of COVID-19.

Hotel Sky has one location in the wealthy Sandton area of Johannesburg, and plans to open a second location in Cape Town in March. Both hotels will have three robot staff.

At Hotel Sky Sandton, the three robots are named Lexi, Micah and Ariel. While the hotel's human staff must wear face masks and keep a safe distance, the robots can interact with guests more freely.

The robots can deliver room service and give travel information, and can take as much as 300 kilograms of luggage to guests' rooms from the hotel lobby.

The robots aren't the only part of a stay at Hotel Sky that has been automated. Guests also use the hotel's app to check in and check out, and order room service. The app is even used as the door key.

Herman Brits, the hotel's general manager, told Reuters that guests can also use the app to choose whether to interact with the robots or human staff, unless they have symptoms of COVID-19.

Hotel Sky is the first hotel in Africa to use robot staff, and also has a self-playing piano in its Galileo Piano Lounge.

In Japan, robots have been used to look after hotel guests with COVID-19 symptoms since mid-2020, when the Japanese government reserved hotel rooms for people with mild symptoms to free up space in hospitals.