Author(s)

Yuanyang Qiu

Corresponding Author

Yuanyang Qiu

Abstract

As artificial intelligence and robotics become increasingly prevalent in the hospitality industry, extensive discussions have emerged regarding the role of robots in hotel operations. This paper focuses on the impact of robotic staff on guests' personalized service experiences within hotel operations, exploring whether they enhance or diminish the value guests prioritize. Through literature analysis and theoretical reasoning, this paper argues that while robots offer advantages in efficiency, cost control, and service standardization, these benefits fail to compensate for their shortcomings in emotional interaction and personalized care. Research reveals that guests, particularly in luxury hotels, rely heavily on human empathy, flexible responses, and emotional connections—qualities robots often struggle to capture due to their inability to interpret subtle social cues or convey the experience of being understood and valued. Although data-driven recommendation services can offer a degree of “superficial personalization,” their lack of deep emotional value may undermine customer satisfaction and loyalty. Consequently, this paper advocates for a “human-robot collaboration” model in hotel digital transformation, deploying robots for low-emotional, repetitive tasks while reserving high-emotional, interactive roles for human staff. This research not only enriches academic discourse on the relationship between intelligent services and customer experience but also offers practical insights for hotel managers seeking balance between technological adoption and human-centered service.

Keywords

Robotic staff; Personalized service; Hotel operations; Customer experience; Human-machine collaboration