Polski
Hot Springs and Cool Calculations: Hospitality Between Thermal Baths and Robots
This week in the industry highlights two parallel trends: investment in wellness built on natural resources, and increasingly bold experiments with guest-service automation. We take a look at what is being built in the Beskid Niski region and why reception robots are stirring up so much excitement – from Warsaw to Shenzhen.
01 · Wellness & Spa
Beskid Niski Bets on Geothermal Energy: PLN 30 Million for Thermal Baths and Spa
In the small municipality of Sękowa in the Podkarpacie area (Małopolska), a pool and thermal-bath complex is taking shape that could surprise with its scale for such a small location [1]. The investment, worth around PLN 30 million, includes an indoor pool (PLN 20 million), an outdoor water zone with two basins (PLN 10 million), and a sauna and wellness area. What is most interesting, however, is how the water will be heated – the municipality is using a geothermal borehole and "dry geothermal" technology, giving the facility a real chance to operate as genuine thermal baths, rather than just a pool filled with hot water from the municipal network.
The complex will be rounded out by a 120-bed hotel being built right next door, together forming a year-round resort – attractive both in summer and in winter, when the region draws mountain tourism. The opening is planned for 2027, with the first technical inspections set to begin as early as next year. This is a project worth watching not only from a local-government perspective – it is also a concrete opportunity for suppliers of geothermal technology, pool equipment, and spa systems looking for reference projects in Poland.
02 · Automation
Robots Take Over the Front Desk – Warsaw Tests It, China Goes All In
From geothermal energy, we move to a completely different kind of technology – artificial intelligence in guest service. The Polish Hotel Holding, working together with the company inteliRobots, is testing a robot at Warsaw's Regent Hotel that checks in guests, sends invoices, and recommends local attractions [2]. It is one of the first projects of its kind in Poland, and a sign that front-desk automation is no longer just a curiosity from foreign trade fairs.
The scale of Poland's experiment, however, pales in comparison to what the Chinese company Pudu Robotics has in store. On an artificial island near Shenzhen, the world's first fully autonomous hotel is taking shape – a luxury property with 44 rooms, run entirely by robots, with no human staff involved. Testing is set to begin in late 2026, with the opening planned for 2027. This project raises the question of just how far robotization in hospitality can go – and here the article recalls an important warning.
Japan's Henn na Hotel, once hailed as a pioneering example of a "robot hotel," had to withdraw more than half of its 240 robots due to their unreliability and the problems they caused in day-to-day guest service. It is a reminder that enthusiasm for automation is worth balancing against a realistic assessment of the technology's actual reliability – especially where direct contact with guests is involved.
Summary
Summary
Thermal baths in the Beskid Niski and robots at the front desk may seem like unrelated topics at first glance, but both point in the same direction – the hospitality industry is investing ever more boldly in technology, whether to harness natural resources or to automate guest service. The question of where the line lies between innovation and excessive risk is one that will keep coming back.
These very trends – wellness, automation, and new technologies for hotel properties – will be a topic of conversation in person at World Hotel 2027 – International Hotel Industry Trade Fair, 19th edition. Stay tuned for more industry roundups, and be sure to save the date.
Invitation
Geothermal thermal baths, robots at the front desk – these are just some of the changes awaiting the hospitality industry in the years ahead. Visit World Hotel 2027 – International Hotel Industry Trade Fair, 19th edition, and see the latest solutions in wellness, spa, and guest-service automation live. Let's meet on-site and talk about the future of your property.
World Hotel 2027Footnotes
[1] PortalSamorzadowy.pl — https://www.portalsamorzadowy.pl/malopolskie/inwestycje/mala-gmina-otwiera-wielkie-termy-i-spa-pierwsze-odbiory-juz-w-2026-r,675408.html[2] rp.pl (Cyfrowa.rp.pl) — https://cyfrowa.rp.pl/technologie/art45044191-roboty-przejmuja-hotele-pierwszy-ma-dzialac-bez-ludzi