Guests staying in Lynchburg hotel will experience new kind of room service

Courtyard Marriott launches Murry, robot delivers whatever hotel guests want

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Guests staying in a Lynchburg hotel can look forward to a new kind of room service. For the first time today, the Courtyard Marriott launched Murry, a robot that delivers what a hotel guests wants-- food, pillows or towels.

When Murry gets to the door, he will call the guest room's phone, deliver the item, take the elevator back to the lobby and prepare for the next order.

"A smaller property like this, we don't have a lot of staff, concierge or bellmen. So room service isn't something we typically offer. Typically, we don't have that many people on staff in the evenings. So it helps us out to make the guest experience a lot more efficient," Joshua Gren, general manager of Courtyard Marriott, said.

Gren said that right now, the hotel won't be charging a service fee for Murry's services. He said any local businesses interested in using the hotel's meeting rooms can also ask for Murry to bring them whatever they'd like.