Artificial Intelligence: Alibaba's FlyZoo Hotel makes use of smart technology

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There's a hotel in eastern China that's at the cutting-edge of technology. It's the brain-child of internet giant Alibaba. And using artificial intelligence, it's transforming the typical hotel stay. CGTN's Frances Kuo shows us how.

Who needs a key card when you have your face. That's all it takes to open a room at Alibaba's flyzoo hotel in eastern Zhejiang province. Sam Wang and his grandparents are among the first guests.

SAM WANG HOTEL GUEST "It is really very convenient. We don't have to waste our time waiting in lines."

Stepping inside is like stepping into the future. A smart speaker controls the room's lights, TV and curtains. But it doesn't end there. Customers can check into automatic machines in the lobby. And robots offer meal delivery, or they can serve you in the restaurant and pour you a drink. Flyzoo is one of an increasing number of hotels worldwide using smart technology. And that worries some.

SAM WANG HOTEL GUEST "This kind of smart hotel faces risks of customer information leakage. Hotels would never leak or sell personal info, but some hackers may attack the internet and steal information."

ANDY WANG CEO OF ALIBABA FLYZOO HOTEL "We already concerned about this kind of issue. First of all, we will completely comply with local government policies and laws. Secondly, with our system capabilities, because you know all our systems are cloud-based, we have stronger capabilities to protect the data for our individual guests."

There's also another issue of security, job security, that is. Could robots replace human employees?

SUN XIAOTONG STAFF OF ALIBABA FLYZOO HOTEL "I'm not worried about this. Machines and robots can only do some repetitive and programmatic work. The robots can save us a lot of time so that we can provide more quality and customized service for our customers."

The hotel says the technology allows it to be much more efficient than its competitors. And guests seem to be embracing it. On its first day, flyzoo's rooms are almost all booked. And if you're interested, well, robots can help with that too. FRANCES KUO, CGTN.