Smart Resident–Driven City Hospitality: An Explorative Study About How Smart Principles Can Create Long-term Value for the Communities of the City Centre

Abstract

The purpose of this concept chapter is to discover the connection between City Hospitality and smart technologies in today's cities in to understand how technology-driven solutions can elevate the level of hospitality experienced in city centres. The goal of City Hospitality is to create livability and lovability for the city's stakeholders – comprising residents, visitors and businesses – by finding synergies between their needs and the city's offering. However, we see that the excessive growth of travel and tourism has taken a toll on the livability of cities such as Barcelona, Venice and Amsterdam, where there are repeated cases of resident dissatisfaction and government interventions triggered by overcrowdedness. Can the currently conflicting needs of the stakeholders be realigned through the merge of Smart City and City Hospitality?

The research identifies residents as an indispensable stakeholder in City Hospitality due to their familiarity with the day-to-day mechanics of the city, leading needs and welcoming behaviour, all of which can create a long-term impact on the hospitality experience perceived by all stakeholders. Research further shows that residents are pivotal to the concept of Smart Community–driven – City Hospitality achieved by a network of empowered residents who participate in, and benefit from the travel and tourism industry through implementing information communication systems. The exemplary case of the mobile application InZutphena is disscussed to underpin and substantiate the concept of Smart Community–driven City Hospitality.

Citation

Park, Y. and Wiegerink, K. (2020), "Smart Resident–Driven City Hospitality: An Explorative Study About How Smart Principles Can Create Long-term Value for the Communities of the City Centre", Ruël, H. and Lombarts, A. (Ed.) Sustainable Hospitality Management (Advanced Series in Management, Vol. 24), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 27-42. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1877-636120200000024004