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Operations management involves utilizing given resources as efficiently as possible to deliver services to customers and meet business goals. Developing efficient business operations requires a hospitality organization to design efficient service environments, as part of its mission. This chapter articulates the key design and planning strategies for the development of a successful hospitality organization. The first section covers the process of location selection, as the most important factor leading to the success of a hospitality organization. The second section discusses strategies for estimating the number of users (service employees and customers) during peak and idle times to justify a costly financial investment. The third section concerns the readers with the topic of layout planning, with the goal of service optimization for a targeted number of customers. The fourth section deliberates workflow conditions, and finally, the last section addresses the ambience and design of the physical hospitality environment, which is crucial for customer evaluation of a hospitality organization as it creates a first impression.

This chapter focuses on the physical work environment, in particular, the possibilities and limitations of biophilic design in hotel office space. Biophilic design has already gained attention in directly influencing the guest experience, but little focus has been given to workspace. Traditionally, the hospitality industry places employees' office spaces in parts of the hotel not appropriate as guest space due to lack of daylight and windows. Many studies have shown that improving the workplace with nature-based features can play a role in increasing employee well-being. Data collected from employees with both extensive managerial and back-of-house hotel experience established that employees would welcome the opportunity to work in such an environment and currently find back-of-house design basic and lacking any aesthetically pleasing elements. An understanding of the obstacles in initiating such changes was shown as well as employee initiatives to improve work spaces. This initial exploratory study concludes that the needs of employees in terms of comfort, wellbeing, motivation and work satisfaction are often overlooked when considering back-of-house spaces. There is a general understanding and expectation that management needs to develop awareness and practical initiatives to address the deficits of the physical work environment. Biophilic design can be influential in promoting a calming and restorative environment at the workplace and thus positively impacting employee motivation and performance.

Luxury fashion brands have started differentiating their investment strategies and enlarging their sectors of activity, for instance, entering tourism. The overlay between traditional behaviors and innovative strategies has left a mark on the cities and neighborhoods. This chapter explores the spatial distribution of luxury tourism infrastructure in Milan. This transition does not affect only preeminent locations, such as monumental squares and high streets, but also places traditionally excluded from the “luxury circuits.” The location of 5-star hotels and premium tourism facilities in Milan (Michelin restaurants and spas) differ from the general tourism infrastructure. The study identifies polarization in the touristic offer and a parallel influence in the real estate market.

Time series analysis of daily room occupancy rates in 91 hotels in England from January 1992 to December 1994 is used to analyse within‐week occupancy performance in the English hotel industry. Two major temporal patterns are identified: one features a midweek peak and Saturday sub‐peak; the other features a broader weekend peak and midweek trough. Both are represented in the occupancy profiles of most hotels. They are used to define a two‐dimensional daily occupancy performance space. The positioning of hotels within this space is explained in terms of location, market and other characteristics of the hotels, in a stepwise regression analysis. The implications of the findings are discussed in a marketing context.

This study is an empirical exploration of the tech-based transformation strategies being adopted by luxury hotels in India to assuage the fear psychosis and restore guest confidence in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It sheds light on the “new normal” and its overarching implications for hotel operations from the user experience perspective.

A mixed method strategy was adopted for data collection. Qualitative data was gathered from a video analysis of two webinars with high-profile panels of thought leaders about the challenges arising from the global health crisis and related post-pandemic recovery strategies. This data has been triangulated with desk research and data collected through an online survey which sought to map guest sentiments with respect to resuming the use of hospitality services and their attitude towards the proposed tech transformation initiatives in the Indian luxury hospitality industry.

The research data indicates that despite their pandemic-related trepidations, people still have a strong urge to be social and to travel. Technology can play a pivotal role in creating safe spaces for social distancing, facilitating a contactless guest interface to alleviate guest concerns for safe hygiene and rebuilding customer confidence to address the trust deficit.

Hospitality organisations must be discerning in the investments they make in new technology and contactless experiences because hasty investments in extensive automation may be perceived as gimmicky by guests. Intelligent and astute use of technology tools can minimise human error, optimise service efficiency and enhance guest experience through elevated levels of personalised hospitality in luxury hotels by judiciously marrying high touch with high tech.

This study is the one of the first empirical explorations of the tech transformation strategies adopted by luxury hotels in the Indian context in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores their efforts for the continued co-creation of high value experiences based on consumer perspectives, with implications for both hospitality and tourism theory and practice.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate a holistic way of incorporating biophilic building design that creates a restorative environment attractive to prospective urban hotel employees. This study additionally examines the role of perceived well-being from nature attributes and associated impacts on emotions and likelihood to choose to work for a hotel with nature attributes.

This study used a conjoint analysis to detect the most resotrative individual and combinations of biophilic attributes that can improve employee well-being. In addition, nature attributes influence on emotions and intentions to work for a hotel were analyzed.

Results showed that not all nature attributes are equally evaluated by urban hotel prospective employees. In this study, the authors found that natural lighting, outdoor green views and indoor landscaping are important factors in the evaluation of an urban hotel with biophilic features. However, this tendency varies when the sample was divided by prospective employees’ who perceived higher or lower levels of well-being would be influenced by nature attributes.

Unlike previous studies, the authors tested a multiattribute design and results demonstrate the perceived restorative effect of nature attributes in an environment on prospective employees. In addition to extending the biophilic design in hospitality literature, the authors provide practical suggestions to urban hotels incorporating biophilic design and propose that specific elements have the propensity to enhance the well-being of prospective employees and reinforce positive emotions and intentions to work for urban hotels that incorporate them.

Voice assistants (VAs) empower human–computer interactions by recognising human speech and implementing commands pronounced by users. This paper aims to investigate VA-enabled interactions between hotels and guests in the hospitality context. The research positions VAs within the artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) context, disrupting old practices and processes. Smart hospitality uses VAs to support effortless value cocreation for guests cost-effectively. The research examines consumer perceptions and expectations of hospitality VAs and explores VA capabilities through expert technology providers.

This empirical paper investigates the current use and future implications of VAs for hotel environments. It uses qualitative, semi-structured in-depth interviews with 7 expert hospitality VA technology providers and 21 hotel guests who have VA experience. The research adopts a demand and supply approach, addressing the VAs in hospitality holistically.

The findings illustrate the requirements from both end-users’ sides, hotels and guests, exploring VA advantages and challenges. The analysis demonstrates that VAs increasingly become digital assistants. VA technology helps hotels to improve customer service, expand operational capability and reduce costs. Although in its infancy, VA technology has made progress towards optimising hotel operations and upgrading customer service. The study proposes a speech-enabled interactions model.

This research stimulates the transformation of hospitality services by using VAs and the development of smart hospitality and tourism ecosystems. The study can benefit from further research with hotel managers, to reflect hoteliers’ points of view and investigate their perception of VAs. Further research can also explore different aspects of consumer–VA interaction in different contexts.

The paper makes a significant contribution to hospitality management and human–computer interaction best practices. It supports technology providers to reconsider how to develop suitable technology solutions towards improving their strategic competitiveness. It also explains how to use VAs cost-effectively and profitably while adding value to travellers’ experience.

VA studies are often focussed on the technology in private households, rather than in commercial or hotel spaces. This paper contributes to the emerging literature on AI and IoT in smart hospitality and explores the acceptance and operationalisation of VAs. The research contributes to the conceptualisation of VA-enabled hotel services and explores positive and negative features, as well as future prospects.

语音（数码, 虚拟或者人工智能）(VAs) 助理能够识别真人声音和系统指令声音从而为人机互动提供助力。 本研究基于酒店业已有的案例探索了酒店和客人语言支持的互动的本质。本研究探索了关于客房服务的表现和实用性的顾客认知和顾客期望。

本研究借用了定性半结构化深入访谈来收集一手数据, 调查了酒店环境中的语音助理目前的运用情况和未来影响。本研究访谈了7位酒店科技服务提供者和21位有使用个人智能扬声器经验的酒店客人。本研究以供需模型来全方位解决此项问题。

研究结论强调了从双方使用者（酒店和客人）角度考量, 并且考虑到语音仪器带来的所有的优势和挑战的重要性。基于顾客之前对这些仪器的使用经验, 本论文深入阐述了对公共空间这些语音助理的使用功能。本分析证明了由AI技术支持下, VAs 可以灵活的识别语音。VAs理解词汇内容并且也懂得词汇作为数据助手来支持智能家庭的自动化以及履行商业职责背后的意义来。酒店从业人员可以尝试运用此科技来提高用户体验, 扩展运营空间和减少成本。从访谈的数据可以证明, 尽管还在初级阶段, VAs 科技已经对酒店运营优化和晋级客户服务做出了显著的贡献和成就。本研究提出了一项介于酒店和客人之间的VA 语言支持的互动模型。

之前的研究主要针对私人使用, 而不是商业或者酒店空间。考虑到敌对环境和客人和酒店的文化差异, 旅游和酒店成为了尤其有挑战性的领域。本研究通过语音识别革新了酒店服务。本研究针对VAs接受程度和运用进行详细研究从而为酒店领域的AI和IoT提供了专业文献。本文为酒店服务中的VAs使用做出了开拓性的调查并且探讨了正面以及负面的特征和未来展望。

本研究为酒店和旅游管理补充了文献, 尤其是在酒店业人机互动领域。本研究通过语音识别技术对酒店服务的转型革新做出贡献。此项研究可以受益于以酒店管理者为视角的进一步研究。相比于收集科技设备供应方的见解, 对酒店管理者进行访谈可以提供更直接的信息来了解酒店员工对数码语音助理和对语音科技的总体接受程度。

酒店经常寻求途径来提高和客户的互动。本论文对酒店管理和人机互动领域提供了应用典例。本研究提供了酒店客人针对语音设备功能性的总体评价作为有价值的信息, 进而帮助科技提供者来重新审视针对顾客需要从而量身定制服务的策略和方式。最终, 本研究在提高行业战略竞争力层面分享了关于发展和采用此项强大有力科技的见解。

Art hotels are increasingly providing an opportunity for creative artists to exhibit their artworks and collections within their premises. This research investigates how some hotels are transforming themselves into important cultural tourism centers. Specifically, its objectives are: (i) to better understand the extent to which travelers are aware about the existence of art hotels and to evaluate their level of interest in art-oriented initiatives; (ii) to determine which attributes and features of art hotels are appreciated by travelers; and (iii) to identify the type of travelers who are willing to stay in art hotels. The findings from a descriptive survey suggest that the incorporation of art into the hospitality industry can attract a diverse customer base and could result in a sustainable competitive advantage for hotels. This study identifies four types of travelers including: Art-Infused Travelers, Art-Seeking Travelers, Art-Indifferent Travelers, and Art-Blind Travelers. These prospective tourists were categorized according to their level of awareness and interest in art hotels and art-related experiences. In conclusion, this contribution implies that artification processes within the hospitality industry can add value to the cultural tourism market. Hence, it also advances future research avenues to academia.

This chapter provides a status update as of 2018 on space tourism offerings either currently available or actively in the development process. The aim is to perform an evaluation of how the offerings respond to the aspirations described in the earlier chapters and also to provide a basis for the discussion on implications of space tourism described in subsequent chapters. In addition to analyzing suborbital, orbital, and lunar developments, the chapter discusses the state of the infrastructure supporting space tourism advances. This provides a perhaps subdued reality when compared with the heady initial hopes.

Pet-friendly hotels are growing rapidly. The prevalence of pet adoption has largely resulted from the loneliness due to social distancing that happened during the Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Many hotels around the world aim to become pet-friendly to satisfy the growing demand. Hoteliers believe that the popularity of pet-friendly hotels will continue, as pet owners often treat pets as their kids. This study aims to investigate how pet-friendly hotels need to design and manage pet-friendly services and policies.

Using grounded theory methodology, this research conducts interviews with 25 pet-friendly hotel managers from Hong Kong (HK). The study includes hotels from different hotel categories and classifications. It examines the conceptualization of pet-friendly service design, drawing on a service blueprint.

Building on the service marketing and service blueprint literature, this research provides a synthesis that reflects how pet-friendly hotels can serve both guests with and without pets. The findings reveal that pet-owner’s service expectations are formed on anthropomorphism, that is, an inclination of attributing human features to nonhuman entity. Hotel managers, and particular those who have pets personally understand better how pet-friendly service can be adapted to meet the expectations and requirements of pet owners while accommodating guests without pets. The market of pet-friendly hospitality is growing, with high profit potential from pet owners who are willing to spend generously.

Data were collected from selected pet-friendly hotels in HK through interviews with pet-friendly service providers. The research is qualitative and exploratory in nature. It aims to explore and examine the multilevel pet-friendly hospitality service design from a managerial perspective. This research enriches the literature on anthropomorphism theory, the design of pet-friendly services and the application of service blueprint.

The research offers explicit suggestions for the design of pet-friendly hospitality services. A pet-friendly hotel service blueprint is developed. This can help managers to develop essential pet-friendly policies and service collaborations between internal departments and with external specialist organizations, maximizing the value for all stakeholders.

The study explores a rapidly emerging market and scrutinizes its specific design requirements. It extends theoretical insights by enriching the anthropomorphism theory and broadening the conceptualizations of service blueprint based on anthropomorphism theory.