Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Millennials’ perceptions of artificial intelligence in hotel service encounters

Millennials’ perceptions of artificial intelligence in hotel service encounters Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming part of the hospitality industry. In times of staff shortages, AI used in the industry can have advantages, but it also brings with it the possibility of customer backlash. The purpose of this paper is to understand the potential response of millennial guests to the potential applications of AI in the hotel industry. The emphasis was on which hotel service encounter categories are most suited to replacing employees with AI in the context of the millennial guest experience.Design/methodology/approachThis quantitative research used a survey questionnaire for the data collection. Responses from 169 millennials from six continents were analysed using a combination of descriptive statistics, t-tests, MANOVA tests and Bonferroni tests.FindingsFour service encounter categories were studied: (i) “Check-in”, (ii) “Reception Services (excl. check-in)”, (iii) “Wellness” and (iv) “Food and Beverage Services”. The results showed that of these four categories, “Food and Beverage Services” is more suited to replacing employees with AI than “Wellness”.Practical implicationsThe findings of this research are important as they contribute to the body of knowledge related to the implementation of AI in the hospitality industry and provide useful information to policymakers and hotel managers who may wish to identify suitable areas for investment related to AI in their operations.Originality/valueThis study offers useful insight on a cutting-edge topic of AI application for service encounters within the hospitality sector and confirms the suitability of some encounters. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Consumer Behavior in Tourism and Hospitality Emerald Publishing

Millennials’ perceptions of artificial intelligence in hotel service encounters

Download PDF
14 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/millennials-perceptions-of-artificial-intelligence-in-hotel-service-8LkXzrrdqq
Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
2752-6666
eISSN
2752-6674
DOI
10.1108/cbth-04-2021-0104
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming part of the hospitality industry. In times of staff shortages, AI used in the industry can have advantages, but it also brings with it the possibility of customer backlash. The purpose of this paper is to understand the potential response of millennial guests to the potential applications of AI in the hotel industry. The emphasis was on which hotel service encounter categories are most suited to replacing employees with AI in the context of the millennial guest experience.Design/methodology/approachThis quantitative research used a survey questionnaire for the data collection. Responses from 169 millennials from six continents were analysed using a combination of descriptive statistics, t-tests, MANOVA tests and Bonferroni tests.FindingsFour service encounter categories were studied: (i) “Check-in”, (ii) “Reception Services (excl. check-in)”, (iii) “Wellness” and (iv) “Food and Beverage Services”. The results showed that of these four categories, “Food and Beverage Services” is more suited to replacing employees with AI than “Wellness”.Practical implicationsThe findings of this research are important as they contribute to the body of knowledge related to the implementation of AI in the hospitality industry and provide useful information to policymakers and hotel managers who may wish to identify suitable areas for investment related to AI in their operations.Originality/valueThis study offers useful insight on a cutting-edge topic of AI application for service encounters within the hospitality sector and confirms the suitability of some encounters.

Journal

Consumer Behavior in Tourism and Hospitality – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jul 27, 2022

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Millennials; Robots; Hotel service encounters

References

  • Benefits and challenges for Malaysian hotels when employing foreign workers and interns
    Ahmad, R.; Scott, N.
  • Post-pandemic pressures to pivot: tech transformations in luxury hotels
    Bharwani, S.; Mathews, D.
  • The service encounter: diagnosing favorable and unfavorable incidents
    Bitner, M.J.; Booms, B.H.; Tetreault, M.S.
  • Understanding millennials’ tourism experience: values and meaning to travel as a key for identifying target clusters for youth (sustainable) tourism
    Cavagnaro, E.; Staffieri, S.; Postma, A.
  • The COVID-19 post-lockdown effect: labour shortages and struggling food retail businesses
    Chang, S.; Chang, S.
  • Wellness tourism among seniors in Taiwan: previous experience, service encounter expectations, organizational characteristics, employee characteristics, and customer satisfaction
    Chen, K.H.; Chang, F.H.; Liu, F.Y.
  • Importance of wellness concepts in the hotel industry – perspectives from generation Y guests
    Cheng, T.T.
  • ‘How may I help you?’ says a robot: examining language styles in the service encounter
    Choi, S.; Liu, S.Q.; Mattila, A.S.
  • Millennials and touch screen technology in the fast-food industry: a narrative inquiry study
    Cross, J.K.
  • Millennials: what they offer our organizations and how leaders can make sure they deliver
    Dannar, P.R.
  • Employment impact of covid-19 crisis: from short term effects to long terms prospects
    Fana, M.; Pérez, S.T.; Fernández-Macías, E.
  • Millennials’ environmental awareness, price sensitivity and willingness to pay for green hotels
    Gan, J.E.; Nuli, S.
  • how millennials became the world’s most powerful consumers
    Gapper, J.
  • Conceptualisation and operationalisation of event and festival experiences: creation of an event experience scale
    Geus, S.D.; Richards, G.; Toepoel, V.
  • The new technologies tsunami in the hotel industry
    Gretzel, U.; Ivanova, M.; Ivanov, S.; Magnini, V.
  • Marketing destinations to millennials: examining the compatibility between the destination marketing organization website and the millennial tourist prospects
    Hamed, H.M.
  • Robot butlers are taking over hotels (good news: no tipping required)
    Hochman, D.
  • Examining an extended technology acceptance model with experience construct on hotel consumers’ adoption of mobile applications
    Huang, Y.C.; Chang, L.L.; Yu, C.P.; Chen, J.
  • Why London's restaurants are failing
    Hurst, P.
  • Adoption of robots and service automation by tourism and hospitality companies
    Ivanov, S.; Webster, C.; Berezina, K.
  • Young Russian adults' attitudes towards the potential use of robots in hotels
    Ivanov, S.; Webster, C.; Garenko, A.
  • The five UK sectors grappling with acute labour shortages
    Jackson, G.
  • Examining the impacts of robot service on hotel guest experience
    Jain, N.R.K.
  • Lots of jobs, less immigration causing hotel labor shortages
    Jelski, C.
  • A systematic review of artificial intelligence and robots in value co-creation: current status and future research avenues
    Kaartemo, V.; Helkkula, A.
  • Customers’ preferences for new technology-based self-services versus human interaction services in hotels
    Kattara, H.S.; El-Said, O.A.
  • Preference for robot service or human service in hotels? Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
    Kim, S.S.; Kim, J.; Badu-Baiden, F.; Giroux, M.; Choi, Y.
  • Importance of wellness concepts in the hotel industry: perspectives from the millennials
    Lee, P.C.; Lee, M.J.; Cheng, T.T.
  • The application of generational theory to tourism consumer behavior: an American perspective
    Li, X.; Li, X.R.; Hudson, S.
  • Examining the effects of AI contactless services on customer psychological safety, perceived value, and hospitality service quality during the COVID‐19 pandemic
    Li, M.; Yin, D.; Qiu, H.; Bai, B.
  • Vulnerability to COVID-19 unemployment in the Portuguese tourism and hospitality industry
    Lopes, A.S.; Sargento, A.; Carreira, P.
  • Minimum sample size method based on survey scales
    Louangrath, P.
  • Surviving and growing in the post-Covid world: the case of Indian hotels
    Majumdar, R.
  • Millennials in the workplace: a communication perspective on millennials’ organizational relationships and performance
    Myers, K.K.; Sadaghiani, K.
  • Trust development in e-services: a cohort analysis of millennials and baby boomers
    Obal, M.; Kunz, W.
  • The service experience in tourism
    Otto, J.E.; Ritchie, J.B.
  • Millennials, peer-to-peer accommodation and the hotel industry
    Pentescu, A.
  • A framework of customer experience management for hotel industry
    Rahimian, S.; ShamiZanjani, M.; Manian, A.; Esfidani, M.R.
  • Skills and training for the hospitality sector: a review of issues
    Rai, K.S.; Bisht, R.; Singh, U.P.
  • A comparative study on the impact of artificial intelligence on employment opportunities for university graduates in Germany and The Netherlands: AI opportunities and risks
    Rauf, M.A.; Ashfaq, M.; Hasan, R.; Manju, M.A.
  • Deutsche machen solche jobs nicht mehr
    Reinhard, D.
  • Exploring customer experience with budget hotels: dimensionality and satisfaction
    Ren, L.; Qiu, H.; Wang, P.; Lin, P.M.
  • Hotel chains: survival strategies for a dynamic future
    Richard, B.
  • Frontline encounters of the AI kind: an evolved service encounter framework
    Robinson, S.; Orsingher, C.; Alkire, L.; De Keyser, A.; Giebelhausen, M.; Papamichail, K.N.; Shams, P.; Temerak, M.S.
  • Service robots and COVID-19: exploring perceptions of prevention efficacy at hotels in generation Z
    Romero, J.; Lado, N.
  • Millennials and iGens: looking in the travelers of the future. The hotel market in Portugal
    Sá, M.; Gustavo, N.S.
  • Which jobs are most vulnerable to COVID-19? What an analysis of the European union reveals
    Sanchez, D.; Parra, N.; Ozden, C.; Rijkers, B.
  • Contrasting quality of service experience for Northern and Southern Mediterranean tourists
    Schlesinger, W.; Cervera, A.; Pérez-Cabañero, C.
  • A role theory perspective on dyadic interactions: the service encounter
    Solomon, M.R.; Surprenant, C.; Czcpiel, J.A.; Gutman, E.G.
  • The service Encounter
    Sparks, B.; Weber, K.; Jones, P.
  • Are millennials transforming global tourism? Challenges for destinations and companies
    Veiga, C.; Santos, M.C.; Águas, P.; Santos, J.A.C.
  • Customer deference to service providers in ordinary service encounters
    Wongkitrungrueng, A.; Nuttavuthisit, K.; Szabo-Douat, T.; Sen, S.
  • From high-touch to high-tech: COVID-19 drives robotics adoption
    Zeng, Z.; Chen, P.J.; Lew, A.A.