E-Paper
‘Hire Americans’: Miami hotel slammed for outsourcing front desk to India
A Florida hotel’s video of a virtual receptionist led to backlash against perceived job outsourcing to India.
A video that shows the front desk of a Florida hotel being manned by a virtual receptionist has sparked outrage in the United States. The video has raised concerns about American jobs being outsourced to other countries at a time when the anti-immigrant sentiment is at an all-time high.
Video of virtual front desk staffer sparks outrage
The video was first shared by Pete Langs (@languageguy1) on TikTok and Instagram. It shows Langs checking into his room with the help of a man who sits not at the front desk but appears on a screen during the check-in process.
“Do you need one room key or two room keys?” the virtual front desk employee asks Langs, who replies, “Two, just in case I lose one.” The receptionist, speaking over a video call through the screen, issues further check-in instructions and generates the registration form.
“Miami virtual check in at hotels!” Langs wrote while sharing the video on TikTok and Instagram.
The video was reposted on X, where it sparked outcry against Indians for ‘stealing’ American jobs. Although there is nothing in the video to indicate that the front desk employee is Indian or not living in the US, viewers surmised from his appearance and accent that he belongs to the subcontinent.
“Hire Americans”
“Miami hotel has outsourced their front desk to India. Guests are checked in virtually on video call with an Indian representative,” read the caption on X. “More American jobs outsourced overseas. At some point this should just become illegal. If you make money in America, you should hire Americans”.
The comments section of the video was therefore quickly flooded with outrage as Americans blamed Indians for taking jobs. Many people also slammed the hotel for outsourcing the front desk role to someone sitting outside the US.
“So American jobs are being taken by Indian people overseas AND AI at the same time. Two slaps in the face,” a user said.
“The irony is people will hate the Indians who are just doing a job while completely ignoring the American bosses and shareholders who actually made the decision to outsource these jobs in the first place,” another pointed out.
“It's up to people to actually walk out. The problem is these hotels are cheaper than everyone else because they're hiring outside the country,” a third added.
