PASADENA, CA—For many guests—especially those traveling to urban environments—renting a car can be a pain. There are fees and tolls, parking rules to learn and the general stress of operating a car in a locale you don’t know well. But, many cities don’t have the greatest public transportation available and in a post-COVID-19 travel world, guests may prefer a more solitary option. Enter Rollo’s smart scooter.
“We were about to begin servicing hotels before COVID-19 struck,” said Skyler McLean, Rollo’s head of hospitality partnerships. Currently, the scooters are doing driverless food delivery in Southern California, but McLean noted that Rollo is anticipating the ability to ramp up in the hospitality world once travel resumes in earnest.
“Guests are increasingly reaching the hotel in an Uber rather than a rented car,” McLean said. “In 2019, ride-sharing companies generated 4.5 times more revenue from travelers than car rental companies. Guests without a car need a fun and cost-effective way to travel from their hotel to local restaurants and attractions. Rollo scooters are safe and easy to use.”
Guests can unlock scooters with their room keys, and when they return to the hotel, simply step off and walk inside as the scooter autonomously parks itself. And, because Rollo scooters park themselves, it’s not necessary to have additional staff supervision.
According to McLean, there are numerous other benefits for this business model. “Managing a fleet of scooters is a pain for hotel owners. They have to provide the capital to purchase and maintain the fleet. They have to pay a staff member to keep the fleet organized and tidy. And a fleet of scooters takes up a large footprint of valuable real estate near the entrance of the hotel. Rollo solves all of these problems,” McLean said. “Rollo does not charge any upfront cost to hotel owners and shares revenue. And Rollo scooters autonomously park themselves, keeping the fleet neat and tidy, and excess scooters are stored off site.”
Additionally, hotels will be privy to insights about guests’ rides. “Rollo helps hotels understand their guest’s preferences outside of the hotel and collect insights about their rides to shape services to meet their needs,” McLean said.
