Threat to Employees In the face of Covid -19

Pandemic in The Hotel Industry- A Review of

Literature

Mr. Virendra Kumar Arya Ms. Deepti Bhatt

Assistant Professor, School of Hospitality & Tourism Assistant Professor, School of Hospitality & Tourism,
Quantum University, Roorkee, Uttarakhand (India) Quantum University, Roorkee, Uttarakhand (India)
Email: virendra.hm@quantumeducation.in Email: deepti.hm@quantumeducation.in
 Introduction
(1) Hospitality Industry & Covid-19 Pandemic
 The hospitality industry has played a major role in society in the last few decades and serving guests for a long time with a
traditional and modern approach.
 In 2019 the world viewed the Covid-19 pandemic, where more than 60 million people were infected, and approximately one
million lost their lives.
 Due to high spreading rate of virus many countries sealed their borders and stop migration from one country to another, Which
impacted to the Hospitality & Tourism industry directly.
(2) Working culture in hotels during a pandemic
At the peak of Covid-19, the working culture in hotels had completely changed due to the unavailability of staff. the usage of
technologies has increased and the Staff become more techno-friendly and Use of Artificial Intelligence increased rapidly.(Roy et
al.,2020).
(3) Artificial Intelligence in Hospitality Industry
 As a result, in the hotel industry the use of automation and AI breakthroughs in technology growing quickly.
 After the COVID-19 pandemic, it was found that artificial intelligence (robots) had impacted heavily the hospitality sector and played a
crucial role in it.
 Specially robots are able to perform task more effectively and efficiently as compare to human without taking time.
 Literature Review

 The Hospitality Industry:- (Sharma,2020). The study suggest the Hospitality is to provide a welcoming atmosphere to a
guest, where he can feel "Home away from a Home. “It is a provision of welcoming and entertaining a guest. Hospitality services
mainly focus on providing food, beverages, and proper accommodation to a guest (Yang, Henthorne, & George,2020). As we know,
the hospitality industry is focused on human services, which heavily focuses on customer reviews so that innovative technologies can
share customers' needs and points of view at hotel operations.
 Artificial Intelligence:- (Al-shami, Al Mamun, Ahmed, & Rashid, N. 2021). Artificial Intelligence(AI) is formed of
two words. Artificial means something developed and created by a human. In contrast, intelligence means the thinking ability of
someone, so AI is defined as the thinking power of something developed by humans.
 Gursoy et al., 2020) AI is the creation of human intelligence that is operated by computers, or we can say by computer (systems.
AI is very effective in doing something very special or specific tasks.
 Artificial Intelligence in the Hospitality Industry:- (Al-shami, Al Mamun, Ahmed, & Rashid, N. 2021) This
study says that As a result, in the hotel industry the use of automation and AI breakthroughs in technology growing quickly. After the
COVID-19 pandemic, it was found that artificial intelligence (robots) had impacted heavily the hospitality sector and played a crucial
role in it. Specially robots are able to perform task more effectively and efficiently as compare to human without taking time.
 A Study (Sharma,2020) suggests that accepting robots in hotels is much more economical than hiring chefs or bartenders. Hence
hiring robots is benefiting hotels.
Continuation………
 Rise of Robots in Hospitality:-
 (Yang, Henthorne, & George,2020) This study finds that Over the years, many hotels have started using artificial
intelligence voice assistance or chatbots like Alexa and Amazon Echo in their smart rooms to provide their customers easy
access and easy-to-use services. Many hotels use AI concierge services, group booking software, chatbots translators, and
robot guest check-in services in their hotels.
 (Economic Times,2021) On one side, where the country was suffering from a deadly disease, namely, coronavirus,
Vijayawada hotel had set up a robot service (two humanoids) for placing an order for guests, which was a great help in
contactless serving. Similarly, Japan Hotel Henna or 'Strange' deployed robots became the first to be fully staffed by machines
 Robot and Artificial Intelligence adoption by the hotel industry:- (Ivanov & webster 2017; Ananeva,
D. 2019) This study suggest that Robots will replace the human workforce on travel desks by providing itineraries,
responding to countless languages, and reacting to cultural differences and expectations. A study by (Stripes 2019;) also
mentioned that front desk personnel should be replaced with automated kiosks in a large hotel.
 Human Touch in Hotel Industry:- (Bisoi, Mou Roy & Samal, 2020). The hospitality sector focuses on the
concept of human touch, an essence of the hotel industry. As Artificial Intelligence entered the hospitality industry, the fear of
losing human resources and the human touch in the industry increased.
 Research Objectives

 To explore the studies already conducted on Artificial

Intelligence and robotics in Hotel Industry.
 Methodology

The study has been conducted based on secondary data available in

Magazines, newsletters, articles, and Journal articles. Presented in tabular
form based on ten studies with major heading as the paper's title, authors
name, and study findings.
 Previous Research Supporting the Study
Sr. No Title of the paper
Customer Acceptance of Use of
Artificial Intelligence in Hospitality
1 Services: An Indian Hospitality
Sector Perspective
The impact of artificial intelligence
and employee service quality on
2 customer satisfaction and loyalty
Findings
The findings of the study suggest that people who are more intended to learn
about technology they do support for the AI technology in the hotel industry.
In addition, individuals who demonstrate higher levels of hedonic motivation
are also more likely to experiment and get used to new technology.
The study finds that customer loyalty and satisfaction are significantly
influenced by both artificial intelligence and the quality of the service
provided by employees. The usage of AI in place of human being will
gradually spark concern in the service industry. Not all the services could be
replaced by robots but Study has highlighted that usage of concierge robot
service will help to attain customer satisfaction and earn loyalty for the hotel.
Continuation…………………
A note on the applications of Artificial
4 Intelligence in the hospitality Industry:
Preliminary result of a survey
Artificial Intelligence towards Hotel
5 Competitive advantage, An exploratory
study from UAE
Artificial Intelligence towards Hotel
6 Competitive advantage, An exploratory
study from UAE
The findings of the study suggest that the knowledge and application of AI in
the hotel Industry is limited among the customers and staff. hence it is not a
very lucrative option to use humanoid robots in place of employees.
The findings of the study suggest that AI is gradually entering in Hotels in
UAE for making an itinerary of the guest, reception service and in room
dining. A hotel must offer adaptable infrastructure, strategic alignment,
management, and expertise to boost AI's performance in the hospitality sector.
The study recommended a number of service delivery technologies, including
service robots, contactless payment methods like Apply pay or contactless
bank cards, digital menus that can be viewed on personal mobile devices via
QR codes, contactless digital payments, keyless entry, and touchless elevators,
in order to decrease human-to-human contact in the COVID-19 environment.
Continuation……….
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
Technology in the Hospitality Industry: Current
6 Applications and Future Trends
Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Hospitality
7 Industry
This study finds that Organizations which have forward-thinking
leadership skills have already adopted "being digital". They are
introducing themselves to different learning environments and
modifying their abilities and skills.AI is taking the shape and bringing
innumerable changes to meet changing customer expectations.
The ability of budget allocation and accepting cash in hotels, the
application of AI-based systems in the hospitality industry may be
difficult. Hotels might start using chat bots, for example, which offer
improved customer care and quick responses, as fundamental AI
operations. providing better service, quick action, improved security,
and cleanliness of property are a few of the elements respondents finds
essential.
Continuation............
Artificial Intelligence as Disruptive Artificial intelligence allows human workers more frequent time and
Innovation in the Hotel industry: Finnish
8 Boutique and Lifestyle Hotels Perspective freedom to complete the tasks. monotonous tasks that are simple to
automate and don't demand a lot of deep thought in AI. the assistance of
AI devices and programmes would be highly appreciated.

Opportunities of artificial intelligence in In this study, only 5% of participants support the use of AI in hotels.
the hospitality industry for innovative When asked whether they were familiar with artificial intelligence, the
9 customer services: Hotels in Ho Chi respondents' responses ranged from 12.5% to 21.2%, with 12.5%
Minh City, Vietnam having never used an AI service.

10 How AI is changing Hospitality Industry Findings suggest that Artificial Intelligent assist in providing customer
personalized services, analyse user reviews, offer virtual assistance,
increase customer retention, analyse data to make informed decision
ensuring streamline service and guest satisfaction.
 Recommendations
 Regarding the implementation of AI in the hospitality sector, quantitative research such
as online surveys can be used.
 A qualitative technique, such as focus groups and interviews, could also provide a clear
picture of the outcomes of the insight process.
 This conclusion could be applied to hospitality business people, Hotel owners, hotel
managers, and other hospitality marketers to understand the demand and expectations
of customers and staff through artificial intelligence, machines, technologies, and
robots.
 It might also be helpful for academicians to expand the scope of their research by
adding more potential components.
 Limitations
 Due to time and financial constraints, this study could not be done with more literature
review and quantitative data.
 The current study has not included any region to conduct their study.
 Quantitative tools, the instrument has not been used to draw out inferences from the study
 Conclusions
 The concept of AI is not new. The workforce and employment opportunities in the hotel
sector are impacted by AI technologies, both favourably and unfavourably.
 There is still a lot to learn about artificial intelligence, which will have a greater impact
in the future.
 Therefore, hospitality business owners, managers, staff members, and marketers should
be aware of AI technologies so that businesses may more accurately assess their capacity
to integrate AI successfully and choose which adjustments to make.
 References
1. Al-shami, S. A. H., Al Mamun, A., Ahmed, E. M., &Rashid, N. (2021). Artificial intelligent towards hotels’ competitive
advantage. An exploratory study from the UAE. foresight.
2. Bisoi, S., Mou Roy, D., & Samal, A. (2020). Impact of Artificial Intelligence in the Hospitality
Industry. International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, 29(5), 4265-4276.
3. Bowen, J., & Morosan, C. (2018). Beware hospitality industry: the robots are coming. Worldwide Hospitality
and Tourism Themes.
4. Citak, J., Owoc, M. L., & Weichbroth, P. (2021). A note on the applications of artificial intelligence in the
hospitality industry: preliminary results of a survey. Procedia Computer Science, 192, 4552-4559.
5. ET Online (2021,July 30), See Pics: In a first, a Vijayawada hotel turns to robot staff amid pandemic, The Economic
Times Industry, retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/hotels-/-
restaurants/see-pics-in-a-first-a-vijaywada-hotel-turns-to-robot-staff-amid-pandemic/andhras-first/slideshow/848828
78.cms
6. Ivanov, S., & Webster, C. (2017). Adoption of robots, artificial intelligence and service automation by travel, tourism
and hospitality companies – a cost-benefit analysis. International Scientific Conference “Contemporary tourism –
traditions and innovations”, 19- 21 October 2017, Sofia University.
7. Limna, P. (2022). Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the hospitality industry: A review article. International Journal of
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THANK YOU