Chinese internet giant Alibaba opened a hotel on Tuesday staffed with artificial intelligence and robots, which handle jobs such as check-in, lights control and room service.

FlyZoo Hotel opened in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, where Alibaba is headquartered. It is known as the company's first "future hotel".

Guests can check in at the hotel by scanning their faces. The facial recognition system also enables them to use their faces as key cards to open doors and access other services.

Users can also control the lights, television and curtains in the room via Alibaba's voice-activated digital assistant system, while robots are deployed to serve food and drinks.

Hotel bookings and check-out can also be done with a few clicks on a smartphone through an app.

"The AI-based solution can help customers save time and relieve hotel employees from repetitive work," said Wang Qun, CEO of Fly-Zoo Hotel.

The hotel is the latest example of Chinese tech companies' foray into industries such as the hospitality sector.

E-commerce company JD announced in October its strategy to put smart home and electronic devices sold on its platform into hotels, in an effort to boost online sales.

In July, internet giant Baidu teamed up with InterContinental Hotels Group in Beijing to allow guests to use its voice-controlled assistant system to adjust room temperature and order room service.

Last year, social media giant Tencent introduced QQfamily, a similar tech solution for hotel operators, to the southern city of Zhuhai.

"We want to instal a 'smart brain' for hotels," Wang said. "In the future, we will continue to make hotels smarter and more automated, as well as create more customized experiences for guests."