STARWOOD HOTELS is rolling out a robot to help fulfil room-service requests for its guests. The butler known as a "botlr" is being tested in its Cupertino hotel in Silicon Valley (naturally) with a view to expanding its presence worldwide. Botlrs come complete with bow ties and resemble a cutesy cross between Disney's Wall-E and R2-D2 from Star Wars. As well as having novelty value, they are capable of delivering room-service orders by navigating lifts and corridors before dialling the occupant's room number to announce their arrival. Unions, fearing for members' jobs, have taken a dim view. One denounced Botlrs as gimmicky and unable to offer the human touch or level of service that a real person can provide. On the other hand Botlrs could singlehandedly dispense with the often awkward and always costly practice of tipping room-service staff. It is true they lack the human touch. But then again they won't hover around your room showing you how the television, curtains, shower and telephone work until you peel off a five dollar bill to regain your privacy. All that a Botlr asks for a tip is a tweeted thank you, and it is unlikely that it will bemoan your miserliness if you don't comply.

For business travellers this is something of a mixed bag. The human touch that the union referred to is a largely redundant factor in room service, which is a transactional activity. Business travellers who want a club sandwich and a beer are hungry and often too tired to go and get one. One thing they are not looking for is a conversation about the weather. Equally tipping etiquette can be a minefield to navigate given the different practices international travellers come across. Many readers can no doubt empathise with that awkward feeling of arriving at a hotel in a new country and realising that they have no foreign currency to tip the porters (as they show you how the remote control works for the third time).

But on the other hand people may need to be careful about what they wish for. The level of automation in some hotels is already making the experience increasingly impersonal for those business travellers who may crave a bit of small talk. Hotels already offer automated check-ins and check-outs for guests. And smartphones can now act as everything from room keys to remote controls. Want to speak to the concierge? Well you can do so on twitter. After a hard day's work, arriving at an unmanned check-in desk and ordering a meal via twitter, delivered by a robot, will do nothing to temper the loneliness and isolation that comes with extended spells on the road. Perhaps the tips are worth it after all.