After handing employees the slip at a Travelodge hotel, a robotic vacuum cleaner swung for freedom.
The automatic cleaner could not reach the front entrance of the Hotel in Orchard Park in Cambridge on Thursday. It was at large the following day.
The staff said that it simply kept moving indefinitely and “could be anywhere” while the well-wishers on social media were hoping the vacuum was happy with its journey because “it has no natural predators” in the wild.
It was discovered beneath an edging on Friday.
The hotel’s staff posted the tale of the robotic vacuum’s escape on social media and asked for the machine to be returned if it was found.
“Today, we had one of our new robot vacuums run for its life,” the assistant manager wrote.
“They normally sense the lip at the entrance [to the hotel] and turn around, but this one decided to make a run for it.”
Its disappearance went unnoticed for around 15 minutes and, despite an exhaustive search and a search, it appeared that the vacuum had made a clear break.
The assistant manager thought that it was found or taken. The associate manager explained that it was only compatible with the charging and docking station in the hotel, making it “useless” to anyone else.
While some of the readers joked over the robot’s adventure, some worried about its security in the wild and pointed out it is “nature abhors a vacuum.”
But, to everyone’s delight, it was discovered hidden under a hedge Friday afternoon by the (human) Hotel cleaner who was cleaning up the drive in front.
It was cleaned up, after which it “is now back sitting happily on a shelf with the rest of its robot vacuum family,” The hotel said.
