Making indoor mobile robots make business sense for hospitality

Globally, indoor mobile robots are currently most effectively utilised in three categories of tasks across three verticals: indoor logistics, security services, and retail.

Let’s focus on the easiest: indoor logistics. Indoor mobile robots are machines where the main purpose is often to move payloads from one location to another. For this to make business sense, the volume of ’stuff to be moved’ needs to be high. In practice, prime examples are factory and warehouse floors, as well as healthcare settings, for example hospital complexes with multiple buildings and long corridors.

Besides the obvious, there are other, less obvious business cases.

One of these is the provision of security services, specifically patrolling office buildings or other maintained buildings. Even if the need to patrol premises may come from contractual terms more so than from actual fear of fault or threat, the business case is the same. Security services provided by human staff are priced at a premium because the task needs to be completed at odd hours: evenings, nights, weekends.

Running the robot autonomously during nights may thus directly reduce labour cost.

Another clear business case is found in retail: scanning shelves to be restocked at supermarkets. Shelf-stocking tends to be an evening or night-time activity, whereby during the night, shelves are restocked and the store is ready for business hours again in the morning.

Even though digital solutions for inventory control exist, in many cases an employee would still have to manually check shelves aisle by aisle to see what to restock. This makes a great task for an indoor mobile robot which can roam the aisles uninterrupted at night, scan the shelves, and notify staff only about the shelves that need restocking.

Two general rules of thumb

Based on these examples, for an indoor mobile robot to make sense, two patterns seem to emerge: there needs to be high task volume, and the task needs to be done at odd hours, when human labour is priced at a premium.

For hospitality, finding a use case for robots that corresponds with these rules of thumb is easier said than done. For example, in the context of food service there exists three distinct markets: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Generally speaking, out of these three the high volume eating occasions are breakfast and lunch. Dinner – when labour is priced at a premium – tends to be less high volume, and more focused on higher average spend per customer rather than quick table turnover.

Indoor delivery robots are particularly effective in high volume, relatively contained environments where outlets are located far from storage units within the same building such as shopping centres, airports, or cruise ships. In these scenarios, employees often lose valuable time by interrupting their tasks to retrieve items from storage.

Navigating between delivery points is a straightforward task for these robots, requiring only one human operator per location to ensure smooth operation. Another potential use case involves venues with multiple kitchens that require frequent intercommunication — such as trade and congress centres, fairs, or expos. In these high-traffic environments, delivery needs are constant, and human staff are typically stationed at the endpoints, making robotic delivery a practical and scalable solution.

It is actually more complex

In this article we discuss the principles of the business case for indoor mobile robots. Here, we refer to ’finding the business case’ as a means of reducing human labour cost. It should be noted that operational efficiency or automation rate are only some KPIs a decision-maker might track.

Beyond use cases with clear operational benefits, indoor mobile robots can also take on additional roles. In certain environments and with specific customer segments, they can serve as a source of entertainment — for example, by interacting with children in indoor playgrounds or theme parks. These robots can also function as carriers of marketing communication, as many are equipped with large display screens and customizable audio features.

Additionally, business owners should also consider the impact indoor mobile robots can have on their staff. Robots may alleviate employees from repetitive and physically demanding tasks. In security companies, robotic patrol units allow human personnel to monitor environments remotely, reducing exposure to potential threats while maintaining vigilance through the robot’s sensors and cameras.

Moreover, the introduction of a robot often marks a moment of cultural shift within the team. Staff typically engage with the new technology out of curiosity, finding entertainment in its presence and experimenting with its capabilities. Over time, the robot may evolve into a playful fixture — sparking informal interactions, nicknames, and even internal storytelling. This dynamic can promote team bonding, stimulate creativity, and contribute to a more engaging workplace atmosphere.

As part of Haaga-Helia’s HosByte: Smart Omnichannel Sales in the Hospitality Industry project, we explore the intricacies of integrating indoor mobile robots in real-world hospitality settings. Read our earlier article Designing mobile robots for better human–robot interaction.

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