Hangzhou RestHour Technology announced on November 20 that it has banked tens of millions of yuan in its angel round of financing, joined by Qidian Capital and Donglin Capital.

Founded in August 2017, RestHour focuses on the research and development of software and devices for automatic hotel check-in. It aspires to be the largest hotel front-desk robot developer in China. With artificial intelligence technology, the company aims to help hotels reduce operating costs, improve management efficiency and customer experience.

RestHour’s system makes it possible for hotel customers to check-in through facial recognition with their mobile phones, thereby overcoming the issue of guests not being to check in without the requisite ID cards. The auto check-in system has incorporated an online-ID feature powered by the Ministry of Public Security and Alipay, thus enabling access to self check-in even without ID cards.

By the end of 2017, China has 457,834 registered accommodation facilities, most of them have to have front desks handling guests registration, collecting deposits, issuing room keys and invoicing. With the RestHour system, it is possible to check in within 10 seconds and check out in 3 seconds. The system also enables AI smart services for online booking, smart check-in, power switch sensor, facial recognition for room access, voice control as well as intelligent in-room support.