First smart unmanned hotel in Sarawak opens in Kuching

KUCHING (Jan 17): The first smart unmanned hotel in Sarawak, Theatre Hotel Kuching at Ban Hock Road here, is now open.

According to the owner Datuk Roman Sia, the booking process is fully conducted online; thus, greatly minimising contacts at the front counter.

“It was during the Covid-19 pandemic that I had this idea of setting up a smart unmanned hotel.

“When the Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented, I wanted to start a smart hotel so that the interactions between people could be reduced,” he told See Hua Daily, The Borneo Post’s sister paper.

Sia said bookings could be made via the hotel’s official website and a mobile application would be used for room check-ins and check-outs.

He added that the hotel room could either be accessed using the digital key available on the mobile application, or just simply keying in the personal identification number (PIN) at the door before entering.

“For example, if there are other guests wanting to return to the room to grab some things, the person who made the booking could just unlock it using the application.

“This would reduce the inconvenience of passing the key to the other guests,” he said, adding that those on working trips could also perform check-out at the airport.

According to Sia, the digital system is supported on a cloud platform developed in Australia.

Meanwhile, there are a total of 90 rooms available for booking at the hotel, priced between RM180 to RM300 including the family suites.

Moreover, it has a grand dining hall with the capacity of accommodating 95 tables.

Adding on, Sia said the hotel’s site previously was where a cinema used to be between 1965 and 1977.

It was later turned into Liwah Hotel, quite a well-known brand back in the days.

Sia said antique items associated with the cinema operation would be displayed at the hotel.

A trial run is on-going at the hotel until Jan 28, facilitating guests to book the rooms via the website and then, check in at the front counter.

The fully digitalised check-in-check-out process will commence on Jan 29.

For more information, go to https://www.theatrehotelkuching.com, or contact 082-233686 / 012-5911799.

Alternatively, email to [email protected].