According to a research report, the hotel robot market is experiencing significant growth, with common applications including delivery and cleaning services, currently focused primarily on cross-floor delivery and nighttime demand. The global hotel service robot market is valued at approximately $1.42 billion in 2024, projected to reach $7.04 billion by 2033, representing a CAGR of 17.8% from 2025-2033. The Chinese market grew from 500 million yuan in 2019 to 1.1 billion yuan in 2023 (CAGR 20.8%), with projections of reaching 3.6 billion yuan by 2028 (CAGR 26.4% from 2023-2028). Overall, while China's hotel robot market remains relatively small compared to the global market, it demonstrates higher growth rates and accelerating penetration, indicating greater future growth potential.

Taking a hotel delivery robot as an example, individual unit prices start at approximately 20,000-30,000 yuan. For a configuration of two units, additional costs include elevator and access control integration (20-30% of total cost), maintenance fees (approximately 10% of purchase price annually), training, and consumables. A mid-range hotel with 150 rooms equipped with two robots would require a total five-year investment of approximately 60,000 yuan, while equivalent human services would cost 750,000 yuan over five years, with robot per-task costs as low as 0.5 yuan per service. This demonstrates that as hardware prices decline and scale purchasing increases, hotels can achieve significant cost optimization.

**Market Experiencing Rapid Growth with Initial Industry Concentration**

Hotel robots are commonly used for delivery and cleaning services, currently focusing on cross-floor delivery and nighttime demand. The global hotel service robot market is approximately $1.42 billion in 2024, expected to reach $7.04 billion by 2033, with a CAGR of 17.8% from 2025-2033. The Chinese market grew from 500 million yuan to 1.1 billion yuan from 2019-2023 (CAGR 20.8%), projected to reach 3.6 billion yuan by 2028 (CAGR 26.4% from 2023-2028).

In terms of market concentration, the top five participants accounted for 27.6% in 2023, with Yunji Technology leading at 12.2%. Current major competitors include Gaussin, Pudu Robotics, and OrionStar. Overall, China's hotel robot market remains relatively small compared to the global market but shows greater growth potential due to higher growth rates and accelerating penetration space.

Driving factors include increased chain-store penetration and rapidly declining hardware prices. For example, Yunji's "Gege" series average price dropped from 26,800 yuan in 2022 to 20,900 yuan in 2024, while its UP series robot average price plummeted 60% within one year.

**Hotel Applications Deepening, Service Processes Being Transformed**

Using HWORLD-S as an example, some of its Ji Hotel and Blossom House properties have made delivery robots standard equipment. Guests can order through apps or front desks, with robots automatically taking elevators to deliver to room doors with voice notifications, requiring no human intervention. This is particularly prominent during nighttime shifts when staffing is limited. Approximately 29% of BTG Hotels have delivery robots. Atour has deployed robots for simple services, covering delivery and nighttime distribution scenarios. Marriott focuses on cross-floor delivery and lobby patrol robots in international hotels in Shanghai and Shenzhen.

In cleaning scenarios, some mid-to-high-end hotels have introduced floor cleaning robots responsible for daily patrol cleaning in lobbies, corridors, and other public areas, while human staff concentrate on detailed quality inspection and support, improving overall environmental maintenance stability.

These applications bring direct benefits: 1) More efficient delivery and cleaning, avoiding frequent front desk staff departures; 2) Stable service during nighttime and peak hours, reducing customer waiting times; 3) Improved guest experience through fast, contactless service leading to higher satisfaction. Data from Yunji Technology's "Run" robot hotel applications show that introducing robots can increase hotels' average OTA platform ratings by 0.1-0.2 points. Hotel robots are transitioning from "novelty" to "reliable assistants" and gradually becoming tools for enhancing brand image.

**Significant Future Intelligence Enhancement Potential with Further Cost Optimization**

Using a hotel delivery robot as an example, individual unit prices start at 20,000-30,000 yuan. For two units, additional costs include elevator and access control integration (20-30% of total cost), maintenance fees (approximately 10% of purchase price annually), training, and consumables. A mid-range hotel with 150 rooms equipped with two robots requires a total five-year investment of approximately 60,000 yuan, while equivalent human services would cost 750,000 yuan over five years, with robot per-task costs as low as 0.5 yuan. This indicates that with declining hardware prices and scale purchasing, hotels can achieve significant cost optimization.

Future development directions worth noting include: 1) Further cost optimization: Continued hardware price declines, software subscriptions, and scaled deployment amortizing maintenance and integration costs, with overall per-store usage costs continuing to decrease; 2) Smarter navigation and scheduling: Multi-robot coordination reducing congestion and improving response speed; 3) More complex tasks: Expanding from delivery to disinfection, security patrol, and other functions to improve utilization; 4) More natural human-machine interaction: Enhanced voice and facial expression feedback improving guest experience.

**Investment Targets**

HWORLD-S (01179): Annual reports disclose digital transformation progress, one of China's first hotel groups to deploy robots at scale.

BTG Hotels (600258.SH): Robots cover 29% of properties with room for penetration rate improvement, enhancing franchise profitability.

Atour (ATAT.US): Emphasizes introducing intelligent technology in operations and management.

**Risk Warning**

Hotel robots remain in early adoption stages. System integration and maintenance costs higher than expected, or increased hardware failure rates and task failure rates, may diminish investment returns.