Dawning of the Age of Robots in Hospitality and Tourism: Challenges for Teaching and Research

Abstract

This conceptual paper revisits, refreshes and reinforces a 1984 study that challenged hospitality educators to include robotics in their classes and their research. The paper briefly reviews robotics literature, explains three robot categories—industrial, professional service and personal service—emphasises the importance of autonomy and human robot interaction, and provides hospitality and tourism examples. This literature review leads to six areas of importance for teaching and research of robotics in hospitality and tourism. The paper gives academics and practitioners a foundation for envisioning the current and future state of robots in hospitality and tourism.