This year’s ITB Berlin is set to welcome its first hotel robot – Mario, who currently works in a hotel to the Hospitality Day on March 10. Visitors to the 11th hotel conference of the travel trade show can witness him at the start of the event and briefly at every discussion rounds. On the subject of 
digitalisation, the key topic at the ITB Berlin Convention, leading hotel experts will be discussing robots, hi-tech innovations and innovation labs.
This is the first time a Chinese hotel group will be taking part. At Plateno Hotels, China’s second largest hotel chain, “totally digital” has become part of everyday life. There will also be a meeting of two senior executives from Google and Booking.com. A futurist will be describing digital natives and three other experts will be discussing investment in hotel guests.
Mario the robot is the youngest employee at the Ghent Marriott Hotel in Belgium. Standing 57 cm tall and weighing only six kilograms, he speaks 19 languages. At the ITB Hospitality Day, starting at 10.30 a.m., his inventor and hotel manager will be explaining why he was made and his hotel duties. Stephan Demmerle, director of the Business Unit Central Europe of the NH Hotel Group, will be explaining why the hotel chain makes use of a technology that can create a life-size human with a 3D hologram of his heart and distribute it around the world. Roland Schwecke of the marketing consultancy DICON Marketing- und Beratungsgesellschaft Berlin will be closely examining the impact of technology, for which Richard Singer of Travelzoo conducted a survey of consumer opinions for ITB Berlin.
The ITB Hospitality Day will take place at the ITB Berlin Convention on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds in Hall 7.1b, the London Room, on Thursday, 10 March 2016 from 10.30 a.m. to 5.40 p.m. A live stream will also be available (www.itb-convention.com/
