Exploring the Use of Chatbots in Hotels: Technology Providers’ Perspective

Virtual assistants, also known as chatbot technology is getting more prominent and is applied widely in many industries. The use of chatbots, advantages, disadvantages, and future implication should be further understood; particularly from a technology provider’ perspective. Previous studies, specialised in the hospitality context, focused solely on user’s perspective. They have widely neglected the expert’s point of view, which creates a gap in literature on the understanding of chatbot implications. The purpose of this study is to explore the use of chatbots in hotels by conducting semi-structured interviews with industry experts (technology providers). This study explores the use of chatbots and the key value the offer through interviews with chatbot experts. The findings show that the use of chatbots receive positive feedback and the benefits of chatbots outweigh the challenges. This will lead to further deployment of chatbot in the industry and the need to develop their abilities in order to achieve their full potential.