This chapter is an intensive insight into the assimilation and influences of robotics, artificial intelligence, and service automation (RAISA) technologies over travel, tourism, and hospitality disciplines. It can be considered a complete study of how contemporary technologies are breaking open new frontiers in customer care, efficacy, and business protocols. The chapter provides a balanced view by discussing both the benefits and challenges of implementing RAISA, including financial implications, labor dynamics, and customer engagement. It delves into case studies and real-world applications, highlighting the transformative role of RAISA in enhancing the guest experience and streamlining industry practices. It also explores the future direction of this technology with forecast scenarios and what is changing in the future. This makes it excellent material for practitioners in industry, scholars in hospitality management, and all other students who wish to know more about technology in hospitality.
Top1. Introduction
Tourism and hospitality are often described as industries centered around human interaction, relying on the services of personnel like receptionists, housekeepers, waiters, and tour guides to cater to the needs of travelers and guests (Hajra, & Aggarwal, 2023). Traditionally, this sector has been labor-intensive due to the complex nature of tasks such as bed making and the need for nuanced communication between staff and customers, requiring human judgment and adaptability. Over the last few decades, incredible technology breakthroughs have been significantly changing our lives. These include the likes of the Internet, multiple social media platforms, mobile apps and devices, virtual reality and augmented reality, chatbots, robotics, and self-service kiosks as observed in Benckendorff et al. (2019). These advancements brought a fresh technological aspect to the connections between travel, tourism, and hospitality companies and their customers. They have transformed the way people interact, expanding beyond human-to-human connections to include machines, computers, and even robots.
The integration of technology has not only revolutionised the way companies in the tourism and hospitality sectors engage with their customers, but it has also started to reshape their entire business strategies (Gupta, Aggarwal, Gupta, & Arora, 2022). In 2017, Ivanov, Webster, & Berezina pointed out that these sectors are embracing RAISA technologies (robots, artificial intelligence, and service automation) to revolutionise their customer services, signalling a major industry transformation. RAISA technologies, which emphasize automation as a means to replace or supplement human labor, have seen considerable advancements and widespread adoption across various sectors. Bhaumik's 2018 work highlights the growing implementation of these technologies in diverse fields. For instance, Askarpour, Mandrioli, Rossi, and Vicentini in 2019 discussed their use in manufacturing and the development of smart factories. Similarly, Grimstad, From, and Isler in 2019 explored their application in agriculture, while Mahroof in 2019 focused on their role in warehousing and supply chain management. The evolution of autonomous vehicles, as examined by Maurer, Gerdes, Lenz, and Winner in 2016, is another notable area of advancement.
Furthermore, service industries have also embraced RAISA, as noted by Huang & Rust in 2018. The technologies have impacted education, as Bernacki pointed out in 2019, and journalism, as explored by Latar in 2018. They are also increasingly used in financial markets for trading, as discussed by Xiao, & Ke, (2021), and in the legal services sector, as examined by Remus & Levy in 2015. The travel, tourism, and hospitality (TTH) industries are not behind in this trend, having also integrated RAISA technologies into their operations and services.
Service automation refers to the use of machines to execute specific operations in the delivery of services, a concept originally defined by Collier in 1983. This approach not only saves costs and enhances operational and management efficiency for service providers, as observed by Kattara & El Said in 2014 and Ivanov, Webster & Berezina in 2017, but also forms the foundation for self-service technologies. These technologies shift a portion of the service production and delivery process to the customer, enabling them to act as a producer or co-producer without the direct involvement of service staff. This definition of self-service technologies has been explored by several researchers (Coote, & Rudd, 2006; Beatson, Lee, and Coote, 2007; Bitner, Brown, & Meuter, 2000; Bitner, Ostrom, & Meuter, 2002; Burke, 2002; Curran & Meuter, 2005; Salomann, Kolbe, & Brenner, 2006; Lukanova, & Ilieva, 2019). Modern examples of these technologies include mobile apps, virtual reality, and digital kiosks, among others. These tools represent the evolving landscape of service automation, where customers are increasingly engaged in the service process through advanced technological platforms.