By: Matt Emma

Technology is changing the way most industries function. With the rise of AI and robotics technology, even the hospitality industry is beginning to see a potential pathway to advanced operating strategies. Leading the way is TechForce Robotics, a company that is working to redefine hospitality with AI-powered robotics and strategic acquisitions.

Ried Floco, President of TechForce Robotics, has helped guide the company toward becoming a technology-empowered organization, having come a long way from its initial start as a provider of “sleep-friendly” snack foods. He brings three decades of hospitality and development leadership experience to the organization, helping transform the company’s focus to provide robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) and demonstrating how technology, particularly AI and robotics, may advance hospitality operations and automation.

Visionary Leadership for Smart Hotel Solutions

Ried Floco has established a reputation as a notable force in the hospitality industry. Since joining TechForce Robotics in the Spring of 2025, he has introduced a blend of expertise and forward-thinking technology adoption to the organization.

“We’re turning hospitality into a future-focused enterprise,” says Floco. “By combining property ownership with automation, guests can reap some operational and personalized experiential benefits.”

The real-world hotel experience of the TechForce Robotics team has opened the door to AI and robotics to potentially enhance service standards in the hospitality industry.

Hotel Ownership and RaaS Technology Solutions

TechForce Robotics has set itself apart in the hospitality sector by focusing on guiding hotel ownership strategies, complemented by its proprietary RaaS platform. Robots deployed throughout the properties acquired by TechForce Robotics provide the company with real-time data, development, and flexibility not accessible to other traditional hospitality companies.

“Each property we have is a working example of what can be done with robotic hospitality solutions,” explains Floco. From smart rooms to in-room connectivity, automated check-ins, and data analytics, smart technologies are shaping the way hotels look, operate, and feel for their guests.

In addition to reshaping the hospitality space with an advanced technology approach, TechForce Robotics’s diversified revenue streams have helped the company grow and scale. Through recurring RaaS fees and the appreciation of its portfolio of properties, Floco has helped TechForce Robotics build a scalable and long-term viability plan.

Innovation and Efficiency in Hospitality Technology

The hospitality industry is all about service and efficiency, but it has not always been about innovation. It is an industry where many people seeking services and amenities want to know what to expect and find comfort in the traditional booking and check-in process, as well as in-room entertainment. However, with companies like TechForce Robotics pioneering innovation in the industry, many are becoming more receptive to the potential benefits of adopting new technologies.

For Floco, disruption began with creating “automation blueprints” at the company’s flagship sites, such as the Victorville Holiday Inn. At these locations, AI-powered robotic systems performed essential tasks, including laundry transport and trash removal. This shift to automation has not only reduced the strain on the staff and saved money but also allowed the hotel management and staff to focus on higher-value tasks.

Floco has pushed for measured deployment of multifaceted robotics in a highly technical approach to hospitality and other industries, while prioritizing agility and open communication among the various teams before scaling the approach across the company’s entire real estate portfolio. Through these active test locations, the TechForce Robotics team has been able to evaluate firsthand how robotic innovations and AI-powered technology could enhance the traditional hotel experience for guests in real-time.

Floco explains: “Being able to provide a robotics-as-a-service model is a potential turning point for owners, managers, and staff of the hotels. Our robots do not require large start-up costs or specialized technical robotic knowledge by the hotel team; we provide a plug-and-play option for our clients to benefit from robotic support use, and they pay monthly for only what they need.”

Streamlined Service and Guest Satisfaction Through Technology

Operationally, TechForce Robotics’s approach appears to be set to revolutionize hospitality. By integrating predictive analytics and generative AI technology, hotel staff can better anticipate guest preferences and create a more personalized experience based on collected behavioral data.

Automation can improve the guest experience, but it does not aim to replace the human connection that the hospitality industry heavily relies upon. RaaS platforms and AI-assisted services aim to help make hotel ownership more efficient and productive while enhancing guest comfort and service.

Additionally, because TechForce Robotics retains direct ownership, technology adoption can be rigorously monitored and proof-of-concept may be expedited, potentially leading to faster adoption throughout the company’s real estate holdings.

Scaling Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in Hospitality Businesses

Robotics in the hospitality market is a relatively novel approach. Embedding robotics not just in back-of-house operations but throughout the customer-facing experience has required the team at TechForce Robotics to consistently refine its strategies.

“The plan is to eventually license and deploy these technologies to third-party operators,” says Floco. As he explains, this plan will not only extend the positive effects of robotics and AI technology in the hospitality industry but also expand RaaS revenue for TechForce Robotics.

Floco has led TechForce Robotics in acquiring high-visibility properties in growth markets, demonstrating the benefits of smart technology in those properties, and refining automation systems using the data collected from those flagship properties to scale the approach.

TechForce Robotics’s Impact on the Future of Modern Hospitality

Hospitality automation is a rapidly growing sector, with service robotics alone projected to reach between $107 and $170 billion by 2030. Through Floco’s leadership, TechForce Robotics has positioned itself to be ahead of the automation curve and set itself up to develop and establish new industry standards across numerous industries.

“We’re not simply reacting to market trends,” says Floco. “We’re shaping and driving the evolution of real hospitality technology solutions.” By maximizing short-term operational efficiency through robotics and generative AI and ensuring long-term success with its RaaS platform, TechForce Robotics is transforming staff support tools and service for a new age.