Academic ResearchJuly 4, 2023Behavioral Sciences (Basel)

Research on the Frontier and Prospect of Service Robots in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Based on International Core Journals: A Review

Analyzing 284 service robot studies, this paper maps the current state of evidence on robots in hotels and tourism into four clear categories: what we know about the technology itself, how guests respond, how staff are affected, and how the physical environment shapes outcomes. The COVID-19 period accelerated robot adoption significantly, generating enough real-world deployment data that operators no longer need to rely on theory or vendor promises. The most underdeveloped area in the research — and in most hotel deployment plans — is the employee side: how staff experience working alongside robots, and what organizational support they need to adapt, has received far less attention than guest experience.

Authors

M. Chen, X. Wang, R. Law, M. Zhang

Article content

What the paper studied

This paper provides a comprehensive review of 284 published studies on service robots in the tourism and hospitality industry. Using bibliometric analysis, the authors map the intellectual structure of the field, identifying the most active research themes and projecting future directions. The review organizes the literature into four main categories: the technology itself, guest responses, employee experiences, and the influence of the physical service environment. The study also highlights the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which accelerated both the adoption of service robots and the production of real-world deployment data.

Key findings

Research on robot technology focuses on performance characteristics, types (autonomous vs. remote-controlled), navigation, and interaction modalities. There is a significant gap in capabilities between entry-level and premium robots, and studies offer frameworks for evaluating vendor claims.
Guest-focused studies reveal that guest satisfaction with robot service is most strongly predicted by perceived competence and warmth. These findings are robust across different markets, hotel types, and guest demographics, and can be addressed through design and testing before deployment.
Employee-related research is the least developed area. While guest experience has been studied extensively, there is limited understanding of how staff adapt to working with robots, how job roles change, and what organizational support is needed. This is notable because many practical deployment challenges are HR and change management issues rather than technical ones.
The physical service environment, such as the controlled conditions in hotels, plays a significant role in robot performance and guest interaction. Hotels have seen more successful robot applications compared to less controlled environments like restaurants or outdoor tourism settings.

Why it matters for hospitality

The review demonstrates that service robots are now a well-researched area in hospitality, providing operators with a solid evidence base for deployment decisions. This allows decision-makers to move beyond relying on vendor marketing or intuition. Understanding the factors that drive guest satisfaction and the importance of the service environment can help operators achieve better outcomes. However, the lack of research on employee experiences highlights a critical gap, as successful robot integration often depends on staff adaptation and organizational support.

Practical takeaways

Carefully assess robot capabilities and design, using research-based frameworks to distinguish between basic and advanced systems and to evaluate vendor claims.
Prioritize the design and testing of robot interactions to ensure they convey both competence and warmth, as these qualities are key drivers of guest satisfaction.
Recognize the need for more attention to employee experiences. Invest in organizational support and change management strategies to help staff adapt to working alongside robots.
Take advantage of the controlled hotel environment to optimize robot performance and guest engagement, learning from successful applications in similar settings.
Use the wealth of real-world data generated during the COVID-19 period to inform deployment strategies, particularly for contactless services, and to validate the effectiveness of robots in operational contexts.

Artificial Intelligence in the Tourism Industry: An Overview of Reviews

This paper is helpful because it shows where AI already has strong evidence behind it and where more caution is still needed. The clearest benefits are in efficiency, personalization, forecasting, and customer communication. At the same time, the research highlights issues that operators cannot ignore, including privacy, guest trust, staff impact, and the challenge of adopting AI in smaller or less data-rich businesses. For hotel leaders, the practical message is to move ahead in areas where the value is well established, while taking a more deliberate approach to ethics, employee transition, and whether a tool genuinely fits the business.

Academic ResearchDecember 1, 2022

Future Service Robots: A Review of the Psychological Processes Involved in the Tourism and Hospitality Industries

Guests don't react to robots rationally — they react emotionally. This research shows that the same robot performing the same task can delight one guest and unsettle another, depending on factors like how human-like the robot feels, how predictable it behaves, and whether the guest was expecting it. For operators, the takeaway is clear: robot deployment requires as much attention to experience design and guest communication as to the technology itself. Giving guests an easy opt-out and making robots feel familiar rather than surprising leads to consistently better outcomes.

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