At Las Vegas Strip hotel, virtual ‘employee’ Rose will guide you, maybe flirt with you

As you enter The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas lobby, you turn yourself over to the hotel’s newest “employee,” Rose, to guide you through its halls and amenities.

Very outgoing — to the point of being flirtatious — from the start, Rose asks with the virtual equivalent of a wink what you would like to check out first in the 3,005-room resort and casino.

If you inquire about pools, Rose immediately gives you the lowdown on The Cosmopolitan’s Marquee, which she describes as a poolside lounge by day and “bass-pumpin’” dance club by night.

Then, like a care-free, 20-something looking for a good time, Rose drops you another line. “Look for me there on the east side of Level 2 and we’ll party from sunlight to moonlight.’’

An image of what Rose could look like as she hangs out at the poolside flashes through your mind even though you’re fully aware that she — or is she an “it”? — is really just a chatbot, artificial intelligence that you correspond with via text message.

The Cosmopolitan launched Rose this week with a soft rollout to select guests. Rose will eventually be made available to all guests, who receive a black and gray business card with her number. “Know my secrets. Text me,” the business card reads.

Strip hotels like The Cosmopolitan and Wynn are striving to maintain their leading position by introducing the latest technologies in the hospitality sector. Chatbots like Rose, which began appearing in 2015 in leading hotels, can interact with guests before, during and after their stay. Wynn Resorts last month announced it would be introducing Amazon’s Echo in all its rooms before the summer.

Like many chatbots, Rose is able to arrange for delivery of towels, suggest restaurants and bars and even send a drink list. Rose can also give a tour of The Cosmopolitan’s extensive art collection. But what distinguishes Rose from other chatbots is her sassy attitude, say her creators.

“Making Rose playful, fun and witty was a key component,” said Mamie Peers, senior director of digital, social and eCommerce at The Cosmopolitan. “We are trying to get personal with the guests.”

The Cosmopolitan worked with digital marketing agency R/GA Chicago over eight weeks to create the concept for Rose. Her personality fits perfectly well with The Cosmopolitan’s image of being “sexy,” said Mehmet Erdem, an associate professor at UNLV’s Hotel College.

After letting Rose inform about food, beverage and swimming options at the hotel, a reporter tested her ability to give a guided tour of The Cosmopolitan’s avant-garde art collection.

The tour started with “Eduardo in Blue Dice” by Carl Myers hanging in the Condesa Commons on the second floor. Myers’ work consists of a few hundred blue dice arranged on a large, white canvas to create the resemblance of a young man looking into the distance.

“He takes photographs of people and digitally manipulates them to create pixilated images, which is then reconstructed in a variety of mediums like coins, dice and beads,’’ Rose texts the reporter who is inspecting the work. “I think this is quite fitting for Vegas, don’t you agree?”

She then instructs the reporter to go to other rooms and down a corridor to find other artworks on display — but the reporter is not quickly able to find the artwork.

And here is where Rose trails her human colleagues. She is unable to help, so the reporter turns to Marcos Pacheco, a career hospitality employee now working at The Cosmopolitan.

No less friendly than Rose, Marcos strikes up a conversation as he helps the reporter find the artwork.

Marcos shares with the reporter how he has seen Las Vegas change over the years and then segues to his passion, food. He suggests where the reporter can find good Mexican food and craft beer in Las Vegas.

As the reporter finishes the art tour and heads home, he further tests Rose. Asking about paying with American Express, Rose says it is accepted at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. But when the reporter replies that he would like to buy flowers, Rose is unable to help and tells the reporter to call the concierge. When asked a question in Russian, Rose remains silent.

By the end of the evening, Rose’s witty language made learning about The Cosmopolitan fun for the reporter.

However, the new friendship he made that night was not with Rose, but rather with Marcos, who offered to show the reporter at a later date the city’s gastronomic delights.

Contact Todd Prince at tprince@reviewjournal.com. Follow @toddprincetv on Twitter.