Autonomous Hotels and Travel Services: A Review of Most Prominent Technologies

Digitalization, servitization and advances in areas such as automation, location-based and contextual services, and artificial intelligence are transforming and disrupting businesses and existing models of operation. So far, the hospitality industry seems to be lagging behind many others in the endeavours to improve efficiency by leveraging new technologies and automation. While booking hotel rooms has moved primarily to online, the staff and their roles and tasks at the hotel premises have remained much the same. We review most prominent automation technologies that contribute towards a feasible vision of autonomous hotels. The paper is based on a literature review, expert interviews, and a case study on a Finnish trailblazer in the industry, Place to Sleep Hotels who already operate hotels with no staff behind a reception desk. Automation can improve cost efficiency while addressing customer needs effectively. While many technologies are still maturing, we identify opportunities and customer needs where repetitive and simple tasks can already be automated both in the hospitality industry as well as more broadly in the traveller context and mobility services.