Purpose
This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of research on robotics in travel, tourism and hospitality, and to identify research gaps and directions for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper analyzes 131 publications published during 1993-2019, identified via Scopus, Web of Science, ResearchGate, Academia.edu and Google Scholar. It offers quantitative analysis of frequencies and cross-tables and qualitative thematic analysis of the publications within each of seven identified domains.
Findings
The paper identifies “Robot,” “Human,” “Robot manufacturer,” “Travel/tourism/hospitality company,” “Servicescape,” “External environment” and “Education, training and research” as the research domains. Most research studies are dedicated to robots in restaurants, airports, hotels and bars. Papers tend to apply engineering methods, but experiments and surveys grow in popularity. Asia-Pacific countries account for much of the empirical research.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis was limited to publications indexed in four databases and one search engine. Only publications in English were considered. Growing opportunities for those who are anxious to publish in the field are identified. Importantly, emerging research is branching out from the engineering of robots to the possibilities for human/robot interactions and their use for service providers, opening up new avenues of research for tourism and hospitality scholars.
Practical implications
The paper identified a myriad of application areas for robots across various tourism and hospitality sectors. Service providers must critically think about how robots affect the servicescape and how it needs to be adjusted or re-imagined to ensure that robots and employees can augment the service experiences (co-)created within it.
Originality/value
This is the first study to systematically analyze research publications on robotics in travel, tourism and hospitality.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare customer perceptions of hotel and peer-to-peer (e.g. Airbnb) accommodation advantages and disadvantages and examine their influence on customer satisfaction and repurchase intentions. The advantages of each accommodation type are conceptualized through perceived travel experience authenticity, whereas the disadvantages are evaluated through the risks associated with staying at each accommodation type, including product performance risk, time/convenience risk and safety and security risk.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey was designed and disseminated to gather the data necessary to fulfill the study objectives. A total of 391 usable responses were collected for a multi-group analysis of the structural model designed to test the proposed relationships.
Findings
The multi-group comparison revealed similarities between the peer-to-peer (Airbnb) and hotel guest structural models. Model testing revealed a strong positive relationship between satisfaction and repurchase intention. Perceived authenticity was identified as a statistically significant satisfaction predictor for both accommodation types. Time/convenience and product performance risks were found to be insignificant predictors of guest satisfaction, while safety and security risk appeared to be statistically significant only in the Airbnb sample.
Research limitations/implications
This study’s recruited sample represented a higher concentration of younger travelers, and, therefore, might only be generalized to the corresponding US traveler group population. Additionally, samples recruited via Amazon’s MTurk may be subject to self-selection bias as any other non-probability samples. Consequently, further research with a larger and more diverse sample is recommended.
Practical implications
It is recommended for both hotels and Airbnb to strengthen the authenticity of their accommodation offerings to provide a better guest experience and increase consumer satisfaction.
Social implications
To develop the authenticity component, Airbnb hosts and hotels may offer local experiences to their customers, where guests would be able to engage with the community and to see and feel how the city lives. Such partnerships may not only improve the traveler experiences but also support the local community and strengthen the ties between local businesses.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by advancing understanding of peer-to-peer (Airbnb) versus hotel accommodation consumer preferences. This study offers relevant theoretical constructs for assessing both accommodation types’ advantages and disadvantages.
Purpose -The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of information security breaches on hotel guests' perceived service quality, satisfaction, likelihood of recommending a hotel and revisit intentions. Design/methodology/approach -Five-hundred seventy-four US travelers participated in this experimental study. The respondents were exposed to one of three different scenarios: "negative", where an information security breach happened in the hotel where a person stayed last and guest information was compromised; "neutral", where an information security breach happened and guest information remained safe; and "positive", where participants were told that the hotel where they last stayed successfully passed a comprehensive security audit, meaning that their guest information is properly handled and secured. Findings -The results of the study revealed a significant impact of the treatments on three of the four outcome variables: satisfaction, likelihood of recommending a hotel, and revisit intentions. Information security breach scenarios resulted in a negative impact on the outcome variables regardless of whether or not the guest's credit card information was compromised. A positive scenario revealed a significant increase in guest satisfaction and revisit intentions scores. Practical implications -The findings of the study provide clear indication that hotel operators must continually strive to keep the sensitive data that is collected from their guests secure, and that failure to do so can have significant negative ramifications on current and future guests. The results also suggest that hotels should openly publicize their achievements in the field of PCI compliance. Originality/value -The study contributes to the body of knowledge on the importance of credit card information security breaches to hotel guest satisfaction and future behavior. To date, this is the only study that has investigated this topic in the hospitality industry, and it therefore makes a significant improvement towards the understanding of the impact of information security breach on hotel guest perceptions and future intentions.
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