Frontline robots in tourism and hospitality: service enhancement or cost reduction?

Abstract

Robots are being implemented in many frontline services, from waiter robots in restaurants to robotic concierges in hotels. A growing number of firms in hospitality and tourism industries introduce service robots to reduce their operational costs and to provide customers with enhanced services (e.g. greater convenience). In turn, customers may consider that such a disruptive innovation is altering the established conditions of the service-provider relationship. Based on attribution theory, this research explores how customers' attributions about the firm motivations to implement service robots (i.e. cost reduction and service enhancement) are affecting customers' intentions to use and recommend this innovation. Following previous research on robot's acceptance, our research framework analyzes how these attributions may be shaped by customers' perceptions of robot's humanlikeness and their affinity with the robot. Structural equation modelling is used to analyze data collected from 517 customers evaluating service robots in the hospitality industry; results show that attributions mediate the relationships between affinity toward the robot and customer behavioral intentions to use and recommend service robots. Specifically, customer's affinity toward the service robot positively affects service improvement attribution, which in turn has a positive influence on customer behavioral intentions. In contrast, affinity negatively affects cost reduction attribution, which in turn has a negative effect on behavioral intentions. Finally, human-likeness has a positive influence on affinity. This research provides practitioners with empirical evidence and guidance about the introduction of service robots and its relational implications in hospitality and tourism industries. Theoretical advances and future research avenues are also discussed.

The Effect of Perceptions on Service Robot Usage Intention: A Survey Study in the Service Sector

“…The third finding of the study showed that hotel customers' perceived value of using robots made them more willing to use robots. For example, the fact that robot waiters equipped with artificial intelligence recognize customers and greet them by name created a positive perception of the service provided to customers [77]. A service robot that addressed customers with a smile and polite language was perceived by customers as more friendly and approachable [34].…”

Co-Creating New Directions for Service Robots in Hospitality and Tourism

“…Service robots can be structured to provide unique and novel experiences that enable competitive advantage and brand positioning [15,18,28]. Belanche, Casaló, and Flavián [31] state that the incorporation of service robots results in service enhancement and can also reduce transaction times, provide faster assistance, and increase customers' intentions to use and recommend service robot usage. A range of such studies highlights that smart environments enhance customer experiences and quality of service delivery [32,33].…”

“…The needs and interests of visitors also need to be considered in decision making. For instance, service robots are useful to deploy to customers who like to see consistent service quality and efficient service provision (e.g., speedy delivery of food to hotel rooms and tables) [31]. These types of human-robot interactions (HRIs) can help to enhance positive perceptions of robotization of tourism experiences.…”

“…The adoption of robotics in hospitality and tourism portends a disruptive paradigm shift where companies will need to increasingly grapple with the design of automated service delivery systems and human-machine relationships. Belanche, Casaló, and Flavián [31] state that "customers' affinity with the robot is a greater predictor of robot introduction success in hospitality services" (p.10) and this is based on anthropomorphic designs which "should be considered an instrumental variable to increase customers' perceptions of affinity (as a kind of familiarity and closer connection) with the service robot". Tussyadiah, Zach, and Wang [69] note that robotic automations will transform the tourist experience, and understanding the roles of service robots and how to best situate the interactive human-machine domain is crucially important, even more so as the COVID-19 pandemic progresses and service providers are racing to automate, designing and implementing contactless technologies to help reduce the risk of virus transmission.…”

“…The design of anthropomorphic characteristics of the service robot (emotion and affect included) appears to be a significant variable in customer-robot trust and rapport building, but a number of intervening factors may be at play as various studies reveal. In some instances, guests found it disconcerting to deal with robots that appeared to be "too human" [41]; in other instances, visitors seemed comfortable with service robots they could identify with as humanoid in morphology [31]. Shin and Jeong's [12] study of guests' attitudes towards robot concierges revealed that guests "had relatively unfavorable attitudes toward anthropomorphic robot concierges than caricatured ones, suggesting the human-likeness of a non-human feature might provoke discomfort" in that particular setting (p.2626).…”