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This paper aims to examine new housekeeping procedures introduced in response to COVID-19. The pandemic has required hotels to reassess their standard operating procedures, especially in housekeeping to retain the confidence of guests in the hotel/brand via high standards of sanitization, hygiene and the maintenance of social distancing.

The article draws on publications and announcements made by major brands and associations about their updated standards of cleaning, hygiene and sanitisation, social distancing and workplace protocols arising from the pandemic. Further, a survey was used to determine the impact of new processes on housekeeping teams and their perceptions of its effect on service quality, guests and employee safety.

Some key new processes are: keeping the hotel room vacant for several hours after departure, the sanitisation of every room, cleaning and sanitisation of high touch points, linen and waste management and low frequency or complete avoidance of the cleaning of occupied rooms. The survey questionnaire establishes that housekeepers value their new standard operating procedures (SOPs) and agree that “clinically clean” is the new normal and essential to avoid cross-contamination and keep guests and employees safe.

As the pandemic is a current phenomenon, the guidelines and protocols are rapidly evolving. Hotels are innovating and looking for new processes to manage infection control. This study has mainly focused on cleanliness and hygiene protocols and procedures prevalent in the industry. Currently, future work could be useful to evaluate the long-term impact of COVID-19 on the new processes and procedures that have been deployed.

In order to recover from the pandemic, the Indian hotel industry faces a colossal task. Even when the virus peaks have passed and hotels can safely reopen, the fear of infection will continue and so guest trust and confidence is essential. Given this, the paper should be of interest to hoteliers and policymakers seeking to implement the best possible post COVID-19 housekeeping practices.

This paper identifies and analyses best practice in hotel housekeeping in response to COVID-19. The new standards that are being adopted aim to assure hotel guests and employees about the hygiene and safety measures and standards that have been adopted.

The purpose of this paper is to use the case of an international luxury hotel chain in Hong Kong to illustrate general environmentally-friendly practices in housekeeping. Six in-depth interviews were conducted with the housekeeping department staff to evaluate the effectiveness of the Hotel’s environmental sustainability practices by analysing their benefits and limitations. Results reveal that all informants acknowledged the environmental sustainability strategies adopted by the Hotel, which can benefit stakeholders. Despite multiple green practices in hotel housekeeping, several strategies may not be as significant as expected with misaligned expectations from the management and the actual practices may create excessive workload for frontline room attendants with a lack of policy enforcement and supportive policies. Therefore, hotels should keep a mutual communication between the management and frontline employees prior to conducting environmentally- and employee-friendly practices. Given the labour-intensive nature of the hotel industry, the housekeeping department should ensure employment equality policy is in place with adequate environmentally friendly support for employees.

This study aims to strengthen implications about hotel cleaning outcomes by comparing guests’ perception of the amount of contact they have with cleanliness of hotel surfaces.

This study used two data-collection methods, a survey and an adenosine triphosphate (ATP) test. Data were collected from recent hotel guests using Amazon Mechanical Turk. Guests were asked to identify hotel surfaces that they touch most frequently. Actual hotel cleanliness was measured using empirical data collected with ATP meters. The two data sets were used to compare guests’ perceptions about the amount of contact they have with actual cleanliness measurements of those hotel surfaces.

This study found that amount of guest contact was related to cleanliness of surfaces in guestrooms. Significant differences were found in guest perception between high- and low-touch areas and between guestrooms and hotel public areas. More high-touch areas and higher ATP readings were found in guestrooms than in hotel public areas.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge this study is the first to compare guest contact with hotel surfaces to a scientific measure of hotel cleanliness. In addition, this study is unique because it assesses guest contact and cleanliness of public areas to provide a holistic view of hotel-cleaning needs. The study offers industry empirically based results from guest perception and scientifically based data that can be used to improve hotel housekeeping programs.

This study offers a global comparative analysis of variables associated with job satisfaction, specifically work-life balance, intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, and work relations on job satisfaction for hotel housekeepers.

The study analyzes these variants across 29 countries using International Social Survey Program data.

Findings indicate significant differences in job satisfaction for hotel housekeepers across countries, lower job satisfaction for hospitality occupations compared to all other occupational categories, lower job satisfaction for hotel housekeepers than employees in other hospitality occupations, and a statistically significant positive impact of some elements of work-life balance, intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, and coworker relations on job satisfaction.

The hospitality industry is characterized by poor work-life balance, high turnover rates and limited rewards. Hotel housekeepers report lower levels of satisfaction than other hospitality workers in terms of work-life balance, pay, relationships with managers, useful work and interesting work. Housekeepers play an important role in hotel quality and guest satisfaction. As such, understanding and addressing factors contributing to job satisfaction for hotel housekeepers is critical for managers

In hotels, room attendants are often invisible to hotel guests. This study aims to understand how customers would increase their voluntary tips when there was less or no personal interaction and communication between customers and service providers. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to investigate whether providing different greeting cards in hotel rooms would affect hotel guest tipping behavior.

A field study was conducted in an upscale independent hotel. Four types of greeting cards through two personalized factors, perceived effort and personalization, were placed in the hotel rooms. The tipping amount for each room-night was recorded during the data collection.

There were 3,285 room-nights tip records collected in this study. The results indicated that non-personalized housekeeping greeting cards did not increase the likelihood of guests to tip, but they may increase the average tipping amount; the personalization of greeting cards from room attendants had positive effects on guest tipping behavior; the hand-written greeting card and name-introduction greeting card were predictors that can significantly increase the likelihood of hotel guests to tip.

The empirical research results support social presence theory. With more consistent tipping in hotel rooms, attendants may be able to predict tips through their job performance; thus, creating a win-win in the lodging industry.

This study contributes to understanding guest-tipping behavior in the hotel rooms.

This chapter covers total quality management (TQM) with respect to the Lean and Six Sigma methods used to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of hospitality operations. In the first section, TQM is discussed. In the second section, Lean and Six Sigma techniques are examined individually. Then, Lean and Six Sigma are connected with an example of a housekeeping case study that applies both methodologies. In the third section, business analytics are explored and statistical process control analysis is demonstrated using a hotel room cleanliness example. The fourth section summarizes the concepts of change management, which is critical for embracing the philosophies of TQM. Finally, project management is discussed in the fifth and last section.

The performance of the facilities management supply chain (FMSC) in the hotel sector is challenged by the diverse nature of parties involved, their relationships and the flows of services and products. Although performance measurement systems have been endorsed by researchers worldwide as a mechanism to evaluate and improve performance, there seems lack of mechanisms to evaluate the FMSC performance in hotels. Hence, this paper aims to develop a framework that would enable to evaluate FMSC performance in hotels.

A case study strategy was used, where 3 five-star hotels in Sri Lanka were studied for the purpose. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with 21 professionals involved in FMSC and through document reviews. A content analysis was performed and the framework was developed. This was validated with 3 subject matter experts in the field.

The study findings revealed that the FMSC process is different from manufacturing and service supply chain (SC) processes as it comprises both product and service elements and incorporates internal, as well as external customers. The developed FMSC process comprises seven sub-processes as follows: delivery of products, delivery of services, sourcing, make/fulfil, delivery of FM services and products, receipt of FM services and receipt of products by customers. Based on the derived FMSC process and the key activities, 38 key performance indicators were developed and used in the framework to evaluate the performance of FMSC.

The developed performance evaluation framework is expected to facilitate performance measurement of the SC and enhance its performance. Further, it would enhance cooperation among FMSC partners and assist in achieving FMSC excellence.

Services management, strategy, marketing.

Services management, strategy, marketing.

Owned and operated by the Tata Group, Ginger Hotels is the first-of-its-kind of Smart Basics™ hotels across India. The case explores the business model and the relevance of the service concept given the Indian context and consumer behaviour, the marketing strategy, and communication strategy of Ginger. Challenges such as the use of outsourcing, learning and development, and attrition are discussed.

From a marketing perspective, this case can be used to demonstrate understanding of consumer behavior, reshaping customer expectations, perceived service quality, Gaps in service, service orientation, and value-for-money positioning, aggressive advertising and promotions, use of the marketing mix to introduce a new service concept in a market. From a management perspective, the case can be used to highlight how the marketing strategy is being delivered through a focus on service staff (selection, training, and motivation) and operations (logistics, IT, and communications), and branding (brand strategy – alignment to the corporate strategy).Third, the case is suitable for highlighting strategy – analyzing current competitive advantages, and carving out potential future competitive advantages in a services context. For example, strategic analysis models such as Porter's industry analysis and value-chain models can be applied to examine the sources and sustainability of Ginger's competitive advantages. The case can also be used for teaching service innovation.

Teaching note.

This paper aims to contribute to the literature investigating hotel customers’ preventive behavior during the COVID-19. Because there is no timely research discussing cleaning and disinfection services as a premium service in China, the authors conducted research to examine customers’ perceptions based on the information–motivation–behavioral skills (IMB) model and to explore potential marketing exits. Moreover, based on the price-sensitive measurement, this study reveals the price range and optimal price of the service, which could assess the feasibility of the service and balance the operation cost.

An internet-based, self-reported survey was designed to collect the data during the outbreak of COVID-19 in April 2020. The yield was 874 usable and valid responses, which were purposefully analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling.

The results indicate a significant influence of dimensions (information, motivation, health behavior skills) on hotel customers’ preventive behavior regarding purchase intention of cleaning and disinfection service. The optimal price of this service is 20% of the average room rate, and the range of acceptable prices is 15% of the average room rate.

The present study represents academic attempts to contribute to the literature by applying the IMB model to consumer behavior in a hotel industry context, emphasizing the importance of each dimension in behavioral intention during the current ongoing global issue. Additionally, the results indicate that the hotel industry could consider satisfying the needs of this market based on the suggested price.

The purpose of this study is to discuss how consumers accept advanced artificial intelligence (AI) robots in hospitality and tourism and provide a typology and conceptual framework to support future research on advanced robot applicability.

This research reviews current cases of AI use and technology acceptance model (TAM) studies and proposes a framework, interactive technology acceptance model (iTAM), to identify key determinants that stimulate consumer perceptions of advanced robot technology acceptance.

The main constructs and types of advanced robots were identified by reviewing TAM studies and AI robots that are currently used in the tourism and hospitality industry. This research found that as technologies tested in TAM studies have been improved by highly interactive systems, increased capability and a more user-friendly interface, examining perceived interactivity of technology has become more important for advanced robot acceptance models. The examples of advanced robot uses indicate that each machine learning application changes the robots’ task performance and interaction with consumers. Conducting experimental studies and measuring the interactivity of advanced robots are vital for future research.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on how consumers accept AI robots with machine learning applications in the tourism and hospitality industry. The iTAM framework provides fundamental constructs for future studies of what influences consumer acceptance of AI robots as innovative technology, and iTAM can be applied to empirical experiments and research to generate long-term strategies and specific tips to implement and manage various advanced robots.

旅游和酒店业机器人的机器学习：交互式技术接受模型（iTAM）–前沿研究

这项研究旨在讨论消费者如何在酒店和旅游业中接受先进的人工智能（AI）机器人, 并提供类型学和概念框架来支持有关先进机器人适用性的未来研究。

这项研究回顾了AI使用和技术接受模型（TAM）研究的当前案例, 并提出了一个框架, 即交互式技术接受模型（iTAM）, 以识别能够激发消费者对先进机器人技术接受程度的认知的关键因素。

通过回顾当前在旅游和酒店业中使用的TAM研究和AI机器人, 本文确定了高级机器人的主要结构和类型。研究发现, 由于TAM中的技术已通过高度互动的系统, 增强的功能以及更友好的用户界面进行了改进, 因此, 对于先进的机器人接受模型而言, 检查感知技术交互性已变得越来越重要。先进的机器人使用案例表明, 每个机器学习应用程序都会改变机器人的任务性能以及与消费者的互动。进行实验研究和测量高级机器人的交互性对于将来的研究来说是至关重要的方向。

这是关于消费者如何在旅游和酒店业中接受具有机器学习应用程序的AI机器人的首次研究。iTAM框架为将来的研究提供了基础结构, 以了解哪些因素会影响消费者对AI机器人作为创新技术的接受程度。iTAM亦可以用于实证实验和研究, 以提供实施和管理各种先进机器人的长期策略和具体技巧。

iTAM,机器学习,人工智能机器人, 技术接受, 感知交互性, 人工智能机器人的类型

纸张类型概念纸

概念性文章

El Machine Learning (Aprendizaje Automático) de robots en turismo y hotelería: Modelo de Aceptación de Tecnología Interactiva (iTAM): tecnología de punta

El objetivo de este estudio, es analizar la aceptación que tienen los robots avanzados de Inteligencia Artificial (IA) por parte de los consumidores de hoteles y turismo y proporcionar una tipología y un marco conceptual para apoyar la investigación futura sobre la aplicabilidad avanzada de estos robots.

Esta investigación, revisa los casos actuales de uso de IA y estudios del Modelo de Aceptación de Tecnología (TAM) y propone: el Modelo de Aceptación de Tecnología Interactiva (iTAM) para identificar los determinantes clave que estimulan las percepciones del consumidor sobre la aceptación avanzada de la tecnología de robots.

Los principales prototipos de robots avanzados se identificaron mediante la revisión de los estudios TAM y de IA sobre robots que se utilizan actualmente en la industria del turismo y la hostelería. Esta investigación, encontró que a medida que las tecnologías testadas en los estudios TAM, se han mejorado mediante la incorporación de sistemas altamente interactivos, aumentando la capacidad y mejorando la usabilidad de la interfaz; se ha vuelto más importante examinar la interactividad percibida de la tecnología para los modelos avanzados de aceptación de robots. Los ejemplos de usos avanzados de robots, indican que cada aplicación de aprendizaje automático varía el rendimiento de la tarea de los robots y la interacción con los consumidores. La realización de estudios experimentales y la medición de la interactividad de los robots avanzados son vitales para futuras investigaciones.

Este es el primer estudio sobre como los consumidores del sector turístico y hotelero aceptan los robots de IA basado en aplicaciones de machine learning (aprendizaje automático). El marco iTAM proporciona constructos fundamentales para futuros estudios sobre los factores que influyen en el consumidor a la hora de aceptar los robots de IA como tecnología innovadora. iTAM se podría aplicar a experimentos empíricos e investigaciones con el objetivo de generar estrategias a largo plazo y consejos específicos para implementar y administrar varios robots avanzados.

iTAM, Aprendizaje automático, Robot de inteligencia artificial, Aceptación de tecnología, Interactividad percibida, Tipo de robot IA

Tipo de papel Papel conceptual