By Matthew Pedersen | DFW Newsflash | April 2017
The Aloft Dallas Love Field, a single hotel combining the Aloft and Elemental brands, held its grand opening Thursday, March 9.
“Our Aloft/Element at Love Field Airport is a dual branded Marriott Hotel,” said Arzu Molubhoy, Chief Financial Officer of Atlantic Hotels Group. “It is two hotels combined into one, so we have the synergies of both properties. Transient and extended stay guests are served here. It is a limited service product, but we do have amenities like bar, food, and all that great stuff. We’re very excited for this property. It’s a 220 room hotel.
“We opened officially on Feb. 14. We feel this property has become a little hot spot in town,” he said. “People love the bar, love the area, and just love the vibe here. It’s a great product and a great location in a very underserved market. It feels wonderful to be innovative, to be leading the way, to have a vision and a drive that we see coming into play.”
Robert Buehler, Regional Sales Director for Savioke Service Robots, showcased what will likely be visitor’s favorite hotel employee, ‘Relay,’ or as the staff has come to call him, the Ro-Butler.
“Relay is a delivery robot,” Buehler said. “He’s being used in about 20 hotels today, another 30 or so under contract. He takes the mundane delivery process away, so the front desk staff and other hotel staff can focus on doing stuff that people do really well.
“Once Relay is fully installed, he’ll actually call the elevator, so he’ll be integrated directly with the elevator control. Then, he’ll actually call the guest’s phone and say their delivery is waiting outside the door. Once the guest opens the door, he sees the door open and he presents the item for delivery. This hotel will have just one unit. One robot handles about 200 to 250 rooms, typically.
“Guests love it. Relay is a really unique experience. They have a robot come to their room, and we’ve seen guests order item after item after item to keep getting deliveries from the robot.
“The staff really likes having Relay here too, because, as I said, they get to stay at the front desk, do the things they do well, like welcoming guests. They don’t have to worry about rolling up and down the elevator with a toothbrush, which is kind of a waste of time,” he said.
Finally, Buehler mentioned how Relay’s presence in the hotel is not only a milestone for the hotel, but also for Texas as a whole.
“It’s actually the first robot being deployed in Texas, so we’re super excited about that. We hope to have it at more locations in the area soon.”
Jaime Ballard, a Cryogenics Expert who was staying at the hotel during the grand opening, talked about why he decided to stop at the Love Field area’s newest hotel.
“I’m driving to Colorado from Houston. I think this place is beautiful,” Ballard said. “There’s an Aloft in Denver that I stay at sometimes when I travel to Colorado. It’s beautiful. I like the modern style it has, and just the over-all feel of it.”
