The world's richest man started by developing gutter oil

April 2016, 3, US time.

Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

Marriott Hotel Group Headquarters.

In the spacious and bright president's office, a middle-aged white man named Su Anli is sitting at a large desk with concentration, his hands flying on the keyboard and his eyes firm and deep.

The LCD screen on the wall kept flashing, displaying various data and charts of the company. The floor-to-ceiling windows on the side isolated the noise from the outside world, leaving only tranquility in the room.

On the desk, documents are piled up like mountains, showing the CEO's busyness and responsibilities.

The golden table lamp casts soft light, adding a touch of warmth to this metallic space. As time goes by, sunlight shines through the gaps in the curtains and falls on the dark wooden floor, creating mottled light and shadows.

Suddenly, the door opened slightly, breaking the brief silence. The female secretary walked in lightly, the edge of the document in her hand was slightly curled, as if it had just been taken out of the printer.

Her eyes were focused and respectful, and her black business suit made her look professional and capable.

She walked closer quietly and placed the document within Su Anli's field of vision, making almost no sound but interrupting his work rhythm just right.

Su Anli raised his head, his eyes moved away from the screen and briefly rested on the female secretary. The corners of his mouth rose slightly, as if to express gratitude, but he quickly turned back to the documents and began to review them.

The female secretary took a step back and waited quietly for Su An to take the time to listen to her report.

The air was filled with a faint aroma of coffee, a lingering scent from earlier brewing, and the temperature in the room was just right, and everything seemed so natural.

However, behind this seemingly ordinary scene is Su Anli's attention to details, pursuit of efficiency and unlimited passion for work.

Twenty minutes later.

"Is there anything else?" Su Anli asked after finishing his work and taking a sip of coffee.

"Boss, Deep Blue Group just sent you an invitation letter, inviting you to come to China to attend their press conference on the 15th of this month." Elisa Bolivar said.

"I will contact Shenlan and participate in the event. You can help me arrange the time by looking at the schedule." Su Anli said after thinking for a while.

Deep Blue Group had no business dealings with them, and Deep Blue was not engaged in the hotel industry. It was impossible for Deep Blue to invite him for no reason, so

He knew that Deep Blue Group would not invite him to participate for no reason.

So Su Anli decided to attend the press conference of Deep Blue Group. Su Anli had a hunch that if he rejected Deep Blue, he would definitely regret it after the press conference.

"Okay, boss." said Elisa Bolivar.

This time it wasn't just Marriott that was invited.

Hotel groups including Hilton, InterContinental, Hyatt, Accor, Wyndham, Marriott, Melia, and Starwood have all received invitations.

Deep Blue Group invited a total of 19 hotel group CEOs to attend the press conference this time, but Deep Blue only invited foreign hotel groups to participate this time, and no domestic hotel chains received an invitation from Deep Blue.

In a blink of an eye, it is March 3th.

The sunlight penetrates the mist in Shenzhen City and shines on the glass curtain wall of Shenzhen Sunshine Hotel, reflecting bright spots.

Nineteen hotel group CEOs walked into the lobby one after another, their footsteps echoing on the marble floor, steady and powerful.

In the lobby, Deep Blue staff greeted every guest with a well-trained smile and carefully arranged for their buses to be waiting outside the door.

Inside the car, the CEOs discussed their expectations and guesses about Deep Blue. The atmosphere was tense and curious. Through the car windows, they could see the streets of Shenzhen quickly receding, with tall buildings occasionally coming into view, showing the modern prosperity of the city.

After arriving at the Deep Blue Hotel, they saw Liao Xuefei, who had received them yesterday, at the door.

"Everyone, the hotel behind us is the address of our press conference. This press conference will be unhosted, and all the contents of the press conference will be experienced by you on your own.

I will not accompany you any longer, please go into the hotel and experience it on your own." Liao Xuefei explained with a smile.

They didn't expect that there would be no one to host the Shenlan press conference this time. It must be said that Liao Xuefei's words did arouse their curiosity. They wanted to see what was so special about Shenlan's hotel.

Driven by curiosity, everyone stepped into this seemingly ordinary hotel.

The lights in the hall were bright, reflecting on the exquisite floor tiles, creating a faint halo. The empty space was strangely quiet, with only the sound of their footsteps echoing in this spacious hall.

A huge chandelier hung from the high ceiling, magnificent and golden, but no one appreciated it.

There are some paintings hanging on the wall next to it, depicting the prosperous scenes of the past, but the smiles of the people in the paintings seem weird at this moment.

Neat rows of tables and chairs were placed silently, the tables were covered with white tablecloths, but there was no sign of people.

Although the plants in the corner were carefully cared for, they still looked listless, with the tips of their leaves drooping slightly, as if they were sighing about something.

Through the large windows on one side of the hall, you can see that it is late at night outside and the stars are twinkling.

The breeze blew through the curtains, bringing a hint of coolness, but it could not cover up the suffocating silence in the room.

Everyone's footsteps involuntarily slowed down, as if they were afraid to break the silence.

Their eyes searched everywhere, trying to find a hint of life, but apart from each other's figures, there was only emptiness and silence.

The decoration inside the hotel is luxurious yet tasteful, and every detail reveals the owner's careful attention.

However, whether it is the ticking clock on the wall or the sculpture placed in the corner, it seems to be telling a story about the passing of time.

As time went by, people's curiosity was gradually replaced by an indescribable panic.

They began to realize that the emptiness of the hotel was not just a lack of guests, it seemed to be hiding some unknown secret.

At this moment, a robot wearing a pure white suit and holding a towel in its hand, which looked like a British butler, walked out from the corner driven by four wheels.

"Welcome all distinguished guests to the Deep Blue Hotel. The Deep Blue Hotel is the world's first unmanned hotel. I am Guan Zhong, the hotel lobby robot. If you find my name difficult to pronounce, you can call me by my English name Bertram, the same Bertram in BBC's Universal Butler. I wonder if there's anything I can do to help you." The robot audience said to several people.

The robot is called Guan Zhong because he is one of the most famous stewards in China. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Guan Zhong assisted Duke Huan of Qi and, with his extraordinary political talent, reformed internal affairs, stabilized social order, developed the economy, strengthened national strength, repaired armor and weapons, strengthened military power, and implemented the policy of "respecting the king and expelling the barbarians", thus establishing the hegemony of Qi.

After hearing Guan Zhong's introduction, they now understood what Deep Blue Group was trying to promote to them.

Christopher Nassetta of the Hilton Hotel asked in amazement: "AI robot?"

"Yes, sir, I am an artificial intelligence robot," Guan Zhong replied.

"Bertram, can you help us arrange check-in?" said Ying Chengda, CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corporation.

"Yes, I will arrange check-in for you now. You can go to the rest area and sit down first. I will arrange check-in for you now." Guan Zhong said politely, waving his hand towards the rest area.

After everyone sat down in the lounge area, 19 robots came out from the inner hall and each VIP was assigned a robot.

"Sir, would you like to register as a member of the Deep Blue Hotel?" asked the robot serving Su Anli.

"Is it complicated to register as a member of your hotel?" Su Anli asked.

"Sir, it is very easy to register as a member of our hotel. You only need to show your valid ID. Domestic tourists can provide their ID cards, while foreign tourists need to provide their passports. Then leave me a contact number. In order to keep your phone number confidential, I will provide you with a tablet computer for input later." said the robot.

"Passport, right?" Su Anli said as he took out a passport from his pocket and handed it over.

After seeing Su Anli handing over his passport, the robot also reached out to take Su Anli's passport. Then the robot opened Su Anli's passport and took a photo of the passport with the sensor installed on its head.

The system uses artificial intelligence recognition technology to identify passport information and upload it to the cloud.

The whole process takes less than 10 seconds.

"Sir, I have entered your information into the system. Please enter your contact information. After successfully entering the contact information, you can choose the room you want to stay in on the tablet. If you want to know more about our hotel rooms, I can tell you verbally.

You can also tell me your budget and I will make recommendations based on your budget." The robot took out a tablet and handed it to Su Anli.

"My budget is about US$500. Do you have any recommendations?" Su Anli asked.

"Sir, since prices in China are cheaper than in Europe, you can stay in our hotel executive suite for US$500. We are on the 5th, 6th, and 7th floors." The robot began to introduce.

After the robot's introduction, Su Anli decided to work in the executive suite on the 7th floor.

"Sir, our hotel currently supports three payment modes: cash, online payment and card payment. Which method do you plan to use to pay?" the robot asked.

"Pay by card." Su Anli said.

Then Su Anli took out a credit card from his wallet and handed it to the robot, which then swiped the card swiping area on his waist.

"Sir, please enter your payment password on your tablet," said the robot.

After Su Anli entered his password on the tablet, the hotel check-in fee was successfully paid.

"Sir, since this is your first time staying in our hotel, I need to perform facial recognition on you. You will need facial recognition to take the elevator and open the door of your room. If you stay in our hotel again in the future, you will no longer need to perform facial recognition." said the robot.

"Do I need to show my ID next time I check in?" Su Anli asked.

“As long as your ID is still valid, you will not need to show any ID for subsequent check-ins. You only need to choose a room and pay for it. Because we have stored your information in the cloud, we can identify you through facial recognition technology later.” The robot replied.

"It's really convenient." Su Anli couldn't help but admire.

"Thank you Mr. Su Anli for your compliment." the robot replied.

"I would like to ask if robots also cook in your restaurant?" Su Anli asked curiously.

"Mr. Su Anli, my creator said that of all things in the world, only food and love are not to be wasted. We robots cannot distinguish flavors, so we will arrange for a special chef to cook for you." The robot replied.

"Okay, take me to check in." Su Anli said.

Then Su Anli was led by the robot to the elevator entrance and waited for the elevator to arrive.

"Dear Mr. Su Anli, in order to avoid disturbing other customers, you can only log in to the floor where you are staying. When you enter our elevator, artificial intelligence will perform facial recognition on you and control the elevator to take you to the corresponding floor." The robot introduced.

After the elevator door opened, Su Anli and the robot entered the elevator together. After entering the elevator, Su Anli did not need to operate at all. After the artificial intelligence recognized Su Anli, it operated the elevator to the 7th floor.

"Dear Mr. Su Anli, we have arrived at your floor." said the robot.

The robot then took Su Anli to the room where he lived, and told him that the facial recognition function could be activated by simply touching the door lock.

The robot followed Su Anli into the room again.

"Dear Mr. Su Anli, the room is equipped with a full set of Deep Blue smart home appliances, which you can control by voice. If you have any needs, you can also make a request by voice, and we will arrange it for you.

If you don't like voice, you can use a tablet. We have equipped you with a tablet, so I won't disturb your rest." said the robot.

"Okay, let's go back." Su Anli said.

Then Su Anli used voice to experience the smart appliances in the room and the services provided by the hotel.

After half an hour.

Su Anli leaned back on the sofa and watched the intelligent robot cleaning the room. He couldn't help but marvel that the hotel industry was about to change.

"It seems that the era when artificial intelligence replaces humans is coming." Su Anli muttered to himself while drinking coffee.

September 2016, 3, China time.

Hong Kong Island Future Technology Robotics Co., Ltd. signed a US$19 billion smart device order with these 60 hotel groups.

Of course, this money is not just for purchasing smart devices, it also includes the installation costs of the equipment, as well as the subsequent five-year maintenance fees for the supporting software, etc.

This 60 billion order is just the beginning. If they think the unmanned hotel is good, they will add more orders in the future. (End of this chapter)