You Can Now Get a Massage From a Robot at This Luxe N.Y.C. Hotel
There are already robots that can cook, make drinks, and build cars for us, but now there’s one that can pamper us, too.
Robotics company Aescape has partnered with Lotte New York Palace to debut the first commercially available, fully automated AI massage experience. The hotel’s ila Only Spa started offering customizable robotic massages to guests and visitors on Thursday, with a 30-minute treatment priced at $75 a pop. (For comparison’s sake, a 60-minute custom massage carried out by a human will cost you $260 at the same spa.)
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“It’s clear that more people wish to maintain and increase their sense of wellbeing when traveling, and they’re looking for the resources available to support this when choosing hotels,” ila Only Spa owner Joe Rose said in a statement. “Aescape’s innovative approach to massage is adding to our wellness-forward amenities, and we look forward to bringing our guests a completely new massage experience.”
The Aescape isn’t a humanoid robot like, say, the Tesla Optimus or Boston Dynamics Atlas, but rather a massage table with two robotic arms that can work on all your knots and tight spots. The automated massage uses advanced AI technology to create a 3-D computational model of each guest before delivering a personalized massage tailored to their body, according to Aescape.
The swanky 733-key Lotte, which Robb Report has named one of the 15 best luxury hotels in New York, has been the first in the high-end hospitality space to embrace Aescape but won’t be the last. The New York-based start-up, founded by serial entrepreneur Eric Litman in 2017, has also teamed up with luxury fitness company Equinox and will begin offering robotic massages at select locations throughout New York City this month.
We wouldn’t be surprised if more major names embraced our robotic overlords, either: The global wellness tourism industry is expected to reach $1.2 trillion by 2027, meaning hotels and resorts stand to make serious coin by investing in and tricking out their spas. They can save on hiring real-life massage therapists, too.
Aescape isn’t limited to hotels and gyms, though. The company started working with Press Modern Massage Union Square in May, adding that the early access program has generated a growing waitlist of New Yorkers eager to experience its revolutionary massages. Aescape is also gearing up to announce more partnerships with “industry leaders” in hospitality, sports, business, and real estate over the next year. Stay tuned.
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