Checking In With Dinosaurs: Japan’s Henn na Hotels Put Robots at the Heart of Hospitality

A dinosaur greeting is a fun way to begin your holiday. At Henn na Hotel Maihama Tokyo Bay, in Chiba Prefecture, that's exactly what you'll get. Here, Dinosaur robots are staffed at the front desk and spark conversations and entertain in hotel rooms.  Close to Tokyo Disney Resort, the property makes checking in an attraction in itself.  

For Henn na, robots are central to the hotel’s identity. The first Henn na Hotel opened at Huis Ten Bosch, the theme park in Nagasaki prefecture. It was recognised by Guinness World Records as the first robot-staffed hotel, it attracted attention for placing robots in roles traditionally associated with people. Its name, commonly translated as “strange hotel,” suited the unusual welcome.    

Across the chain, the reception and robot experiences vary by property. Some hotels feature dinosaur robots, while others host hyper-realistic humanoid receptionists. These different appearances allow each hotel to have its own personality and make the robot interaction part of the choice to stay at a specific property.   

For example, at Maihama, a Velociraptor robot provides check-in servicesin Japanese, English, Korean and Chinese, and an impressive-sized robot Tyrannosaurus also greets visitors in the lobby for an even more memorable photo. Upstairs, Sharp's RoBoHoN takes on a more personal, if miniature, role.  

The small humanoid hybrid combines communication features and entertainment, offering storytelling, quizzes and dancing. Guests can ask it to read aloud a story or give a dance performance, taking a quiet moment in their room and turning it into another robot encounter. RoBoHoN also fulfills practical hotel requests. According to the property, it can provide information about the hotel and local area, explain breakfast and checkout times and offer a morning wake-up call.  

Together, these machines illustrate several ways robots can participate in hospitality: guiding arrivals, sharing useful information, and entertaining guests. The robots' role therefore extends beyond novelty into simple, everyday assistance.