The Hotel Experience Is Being Rewritten, and it’s not on paper. Inside LUMA Hotel’s Paperless, Robot-Assisted Guest Journey
- 4 days ago
- 7 min read
Luxury hospitality is entering a new era. Paperless operations, hotel PMS integrations, text valet services, and robots delivering lattes are now the norm. In this spotlight interview, Derek Pacqué sits down with Russell Berdalio to discuss how LUMA Hotel San Francisco employs technology to create what Russell calls “invisible service.”
Today’s hotel guests expect more than clean sheets and cable TV; they expect mobile-first experiences, personalized communication, and hospitality teams that work in the background.
Few hotels embody that modern shift better than LUMA Hotel San Francisco.
It’s 10 AM, and already, Russell Berdalio, the Director of Rooms at LUMA Hotel, has had an abnormally busy morning. The hotel has been booked out for months with attendees enjoying the world's largest cybersecurity conference (RSA Conference), and in a few short days, Oracle Park will host the season opening between the Giants and Dodgers.
“We accommodate a lot of Dodger fans from the Los Angeles area when they’re in town,” Russell explains. “Since we’re two blocks from Oracle Park’s front gate, we stay pretty busy during the baseball season.”
Russell leads us to the elevator to take us up to their corner penthouse to do our interview, but before the doors close, Henry, a staff member at LUMA, joins us on one of his many coffee delivery runs.
Henry does not acknowledge any of us, yet he instantly wins over our hearts. See, Henry is one of four adorable self-guided robots by Relay Robotics, or “Digital Curators,” as Russell calls them. At any given hour, you might catch one of these three-foot-tall robots delivering toothbrushes, packages, and fresh-brewed coffee to one of LUMA’s 299 rooms.
As we reach the 8th floor, the elevator doors open, and Henry kindly beeps for us to get out of his way, as he glides out of the elevator and down the hallway all on his own.
As the elevator doors close, we all cannot help but giggle and chat about what we just saw. The future has arrived! This modern experience is just one of many unique hospitality moments we witnessed during our wonderful stay at LUMA, and we couldn’t wait to hear how Russell and his team have made it all possible.
Lets start off by talking about the robot that joined us in the elevator. How do you decide what hospitality technology to adopt to improve the experience?
“At LUMA, we really see technology as something that sets us apart and gives us a competitive edge when compared to other hotels in the city, in the state, even in the world.
We like to see new systems set up that provide more efficient service to guests, something memorable for them to take home and talk about, such as personalized text confirmation messages from Chexology about their luggage, vehicles, or package status - or our robots from Relay Robotics.
Robot deliveries to the rooms and our virtual concierge are experiences that guests light up when they use them. That makes our team very happy.
At the end of the day, humans crave connections, so our litmus test for adopting any new technology is that it has to improve the experience for our guests. Chexology is one of those. You allow us to focus on the guest needs, even anticipate them, surprise and delight them in a way that they've never seen before.”
LUMA is such a modern, tech-forward property. What do you think sets the guest experience apart from traditional hotels?
“For guests arriving at LUMA, we want them to experience something that they've never had before. Checking in… Having a valet capture a photo of their car instead of writing on paper tickets… Having a robot on its coffee run, joining them in the elevator… Receiving a text message inviting them to use our virtual concierge… It’s all really about having them leave feeling like they've never been to a hotel like that, where service is invisible. That’s why LUMA is such a fun guest experience.
We anticipate their needs, and they don't even have to think about what they need next. That's our job as team members - to think for them.”
What do you find hotel guests want most?
“Hm. The thing that guests want most is to be recognized.
When you say a guest's name, it makes them feel important. When you say, ‘Welcome Derek, it's great to have you here at LUMA, I see that it's your birthday, happy birthday! From the moment a guest arrives, that's impactful.
Chexology has enabled our team to do just that. By glancing at the app, our team can further anticipate needs, share those special moments, and greet them accordingly from the moment they set foot on LUMA’s property.”
How has LUMA enjoyed Chexology’s new digital package solution?
“I think it really ties back to the saying from George Bernard Shaw: ‘Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream of things that never were and say why not.’
Having that vision - similar to you, Derek, with Chexology, where there's a problem with the way hotels handle large amounts of packages arriving for guests. There's no solution currently in the market to digitally track packages in a seamless, integrated way. How do we create that solution?
By using Chexology to track our guests’ packages right in our Infor HMS system, the front desk team can focus on ensuring each guest receives the proper text notification from the moment the package is received, and instantly when it's stored.
How have guests responded to Chexology’s package text notifications?
“When guests send a package to a hotel, the one thing that they don't want to do is try and track it down once they arrive.
In my opinion, every guest should receive notification when a delivery is made.
And with Chexology, guests will receive an instant message once packages are tagged and logged in the system. Guests will know to stop by Glow Central or the front desk at LUMA to pick it up, so transparency reduces a lot of their stress.
Luxury hotels are increasingly focused on sustainability. How have you replaced LUMA’s paper-based processes?
“As a LEED Silver certified property, we take going-green practices and being environmentally friendly very seriously here.
It's one thing to cut down on printing or paper use, but when we handle mundane tasks like luggage storage and valet parking digitally, thanks to Chexology's reusable NFC luggage tags, not only are we enhancing the guest experience by providing an easier way to retrieve their items and track them internally, but we're also protecting the environment from potential waste.
And I just feel Chexology really buys into the vision of LUMA as being a good neighbor, a smart business where we really pride ourselves in not only looking out for the bottom line, but being a good advocate for the community.”
Does Chexology help your staff spend more time interacting with guests vs. managing paperwork or older manual processes?
“At LUMA, human connections are key. So, yes.
What we enjoy most about Chexology is that it allows us to be more efficient, free up more time for the team, really focus on the guest, make meaningful connections, and not have our heads down writing important information on paper tickets.
Mundane tasks such as deliveries to the rooms or even storing luggage become exciting when they can be done in just a few seconds, rather than having a guest provide their name, have it handwritten, and try to guess what name it is.
This really just helps the team track guests accurately and frees us from potential liability if someone were to lose a luggage tag - we would be able to retrieve it by using the system.”
What made you make the switch from your old paper valet system to switching to Chexology’s texting valet experience?
“After seeing the team get beaten up on the drive on busy days, such as when the Dodgers come to town, 200 vehicles converging on a small driveway that can only fit six vehicles at a time, I was trying to think of a way to improve the operation without having someone handwrite a ticket, or do a manual inspection.
It was really the need of the valet team and the impact on the guest experience that led to our conversation about incorporating Chexology into LUMA’s valet operations and tracking vehicles through the property management system.
Chexology allows us to identify the reservation from the time of arrival in the vehicle and attach a digital ticket to that reservation with an inspection on the drive using your handy photo damage feature.
Hopefully, in the near future, with Meta glasses, we'll be able to speed up operations and get to the next vehicle even quicker.
At LUMA, we don't have any time to waste.”
Thank you so much for your time, Russell. It’s always a pleasure to talk with you. Do you have any closing words?
“The pleasure is all mine, Derek. It's been a great partnership over the past five years with Chexology. Me throwing out crazy ideas and then you coming back with, ‘Hey, I made it happen.’
Every time you come, and we roll out something new, my team is like, ‘We fixed that issue! You listened to us, you made it happen!’
At the end of the day, it's about making my team happy, making the guests happy, and just doing something new.”
As we leave LUMA…
Later that afternoon, as we leave LUMA, we watch a guest pull up to the valet drive after a long flight. Within seconds, the valet team photographs the vehicle, digitally logs it into the system, and sends an instant text confirmation directly to the guest’s phone. No clipboard. No paper ticket. No fumbling through pockets or wallets trying not to lose a claim stub before dinner that night. The guest smiles, slips their phone back into their pocket, and walks into the lobby empty-handed while the team greets them by name at check-in.
And that’s ultimately what makes LUMA feel different. The technology fades into the background, but the feeling stays with you. Every digital valet ticket, package notification, robot delivery, and paperless luggage interaction is designed around one goal: giving guests a smoother, more thoughtful experience while freeing the staff to focus on genuine hospitality.
At LUMA, the future of hospitality isn’t cold or automated; it’s personal, effortless, and quietly unforgettable.
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