First virtual bartender in hotel industry comes to Kissimmee
A Kissimmee hotel guest walks into a bar, and orders a drink.
If that’s at the Wyndham Resort and Conference Center/ Celebration, it could involve interacting with AI and getting that cocktail from the H Street Grille’s newest bartender, Sara.
Through a partnership with AD1, the hotel's management company, tech outfit Cecilia.ai and tequila brand Casa Azul, Sara—a hospitality artificial- intelligence (AI) bartender- debuted last week.
Cecilia.ia company officials say this placement is the first in Central Florida, and the first one in the hotel industry.
Sara … she … it … has voice-recognition and other AI capabilities that customers can interact with. She also speaks Spanish and even tells jokes; “Hopefully good ones,” she said.
Elad Kobi, CEO of Cecilia.ai, the tech company behind the “interactive robotic bartender,” said the technology has been in the making for four years.
“Sara is an employee of the Wyndham; the customization makes that possible,” he said. “She knows everything about the Wyndham resort, the entertainment, the pool hours … and she is still here after the bar is closed, if you want a drink after coming back from a late event.”
“I saw them at an event. I got to see the machine and thought this would make for a great guest experience,” said Daniel Berman, president of AD1. “This is a tool.”
The ordering process is much like this: readers to the sides of the main screen scan customer’s IDs, and either their credit card or their room key to charge the drink to their Wyndham room. Another small screen takes a picture to do a facial recognition scan to match with the ID. At that point, cups and the ice tray are provided.
Sara—clad in the same attire as other bartenders there—will recognize someone has “bellied up to the bar”, greet them and make recommendations based on the questions or comments of the customer.
Suggest an ingredient — “How about a vodka drink, Sara?”— and she’ll reference a swipe-able list that includes various Bloody Marys and similar cocktails with mixers. Sara serves up cocktails, mostly from the tequila and vodka lists, so ask for a beer or an exotic drink and she’ll respond with something like, “I can only serve what’s on the menu,” so your Tom Collins or Old Fashioned will have to come from the regular bar.
Make your selection, place the cup with ice under the dispenser, and within a few seconds you can sip on your cocktail.
On this day, Sara suggested a greyhound — vodka and grapefruit juice-and a tequila sunrise, made with the sponsored Casa Azul tequila.
Hotel and company officials, including other bartenders, say Sara is a welcome addition, and isn’t seen as competition, “People can tip Sara, and those tips go back to the house, and the bartenders who don’t have to make those drinks themselves,” said Haizel, a Wyndham bartender wearing the exact same shirt Sara had on. “She is my partner, working when I am not working.”
And, the system collects real- time analytics, to determine what drinks are being ordered more frequently—and which ones are not.
“This will tell us, say, when margaritas are ordered more often, and can help stock the right product at the right time,” Casa Azul Director of Sales Colleen McLeod Garner said. “This helps with budgets and the bottom line.”
Resort officials said while Sara is currently located in the H Street Grille, it … she … can be moved around the property to best serve various events and parties.
