Service robots in hotels: understanding the service quality perceptions of human-robot interaction

Understanding the Robotic Restaurant Experience: A Multiple Case Study

“…These findings confirm findings in prior studies that service robots are a strong pull motivation for guests as they provide enjoyment for their children (Choi et al, 2019). Considering that children have a significant impact on decision-making process (Thornton, Shaw, & Williams, 1997;Kim, Choi, Agrusa, Wang & Kim, 2010;Rhoden, Hunter-Jones & Miller, 2016), including on the decision to dine out and on selecting a restaurant (Labrecque & Ricard, 2001;Chen, Lehto, Behnke & Tang, 2016), robot restaurants need to pay special attention on how their robots are perceived and accepted by children.…”

“…The technological development in tourism and hospitality services has been led to a future economy in which artificial intelligence and robots might be used at all stages of the service process (Kazandzhieva & Filipova, 2019). Since experiencing service robots in daily life or hotels is a unique and new experience and thus, customers may want to interact with robots (Choi et al, 2019), because, they may feel more comfortable with robotic service and have a positive perception of robots (Kazandzhieva & Filipova, 2019). However, although robotic technology is developing, people are still unfamiliar with robotic devices, thus interacting with them does not happen frequently in their life.…”

“…However, although robotic technology is developing, people are still unfamiliar with robotic devices, thus interacting with them does not happen frequently in their life. This makes the experience extraordinary and has the potential to enhance the satisfaction level of customers (Choi et al, 2019). Additionally, as robots are considered novel, extraordinary and unique, guests may have memorable experiences when they encounter robots in various tasks in a service environment (Sthapit, 2017), including in hospitality (Tung & Law, 2017;Tung & Au, 2018) and restaurant context.…”

“…The findings indicate robots were not capable and qualified enough to replace human employees in restaurants, because they cannot act independently and efficiently to address customers' needs and fulfil guest experiences (Choi et al, 2019;Ivanov & Webster, 2018). That is why, some hospitality firms, especially hotels, preferred not to use service robots anymore (Qiu, Li, Shu & Bai, 2019).…”

“…Currently, hospitality companies start to adopt service robots for various activities such as housekeeping attendants, bellboys, guides, hosts, porters, cooking staff, room servers, waiters, etc (Ivanov & Webster, 2019c;Ivanov, Webster & Berezina, 2017;Lu, Cai & Gursoy, 2019;Drexler & Lapré, 2019). Therefore, naturally, the number of studies on service robots in hospitality and tourism industry is growing (Choi, Choi, Oh & Kim, 2019;Ivanov, Gretzel, Berezina, Sigala & Webster, 2019;Li, Bonn, & Ye, 2019;Lu et al, 2019;Murphy, Gretzel, & Pesonen, 2019;Murphy, Hofacker & Gretzel, 2017;Tung & Law, 2017;Tung & Au, 2018;Yu & Ngan, 2019). On the other hand, there is an extensive literature related to restaurant experience (Andersson & Mossberg, 2004;Jeong & Jang, 2011;Jin, Lee & Huffman, 2012;Kim & Jang, 2019;Pantelidis, 2010;Ryu & Han, 2011;Velázquez, Blasco, Saura & Contrí, 2010).…”