The hospitality industry is gradually embracing artificial intelligence as a measure to boost operations and to minimize costs. This technology can potentially change the industry entirely. Dirican (2015) maintains that the introduction of artificial intelligence into the hotel business has led to a paradigm shift. The technology has come at a time when hotels are increasingly being required to automate the majority of their processes in order to enhance service delivery and meet customer satisfaction. Indeed, automation has helped to drive revenue up, enhance the reputation of many facilities, and to improve overall customer experience.
Like most industrial systems, “the world of hotels revolve around a handful of solutions, all driven by intelligent chatbots and voice-enabled services” (Dirican, 2015, p. 568). Artificial intelligence has enabled hotels throughout the world to improve their services and operational systems to cope with changing consumer expectations. Today, hotels can utilize intelligence-based analytics to enhance the consumer experience. The introduction of artificial intelligence into the hospitality industry will help to reduce costs attributed to service delivery. It will also assist in addressing the challenges attributed to operational dynamics of the sector. The motivation for this study is to assist hotels to profit from the functionalities of artificial intelligence. As many hotels begin to embrace the technology, this study is vital as it will serve as an eye-opener to its numerous benefits. It will not only be of significance to the hospitality industry but also to other business sectors.
The growth of the hospitality industry is founded on effective service delivery. According to Dirican (2015), artificial intelligence can allow hotels to automate customer care practices and internal processes, therefore minimizing service costs and optimizing operational expenses. The technology comprises of machine language capabilities that are valuable to customers and hoteliers. One of the factors that contribute to increased costs in the hospitality industry is the inability of management to cope with changing consumer demands. At times, hotels incur losses due to procuring services and products that are in little demand. Ivanov, Webster, and Berezina (2017) argue that the incorporation of chatbot software into marketing and sales systems enables hotels to gather information regarding consumer tastes and preferences, existing offers, and client behavioral patterns. Machine learning in artificial intelligence uses information regarding past operations, as well as current changes in trends, to come up with precise responses, tailored propositions, and customer offers that suit the needs of clients and travel planners. In other words, the technology does not only improve customer services but also facilitates effective decision-making, thus minimizing possible losses.
The provision of personalized recommendations to hotel guests enhances their experience and minimizes operations costs. Artificial intelligence enables hotels to gather information that is helpful in anticipating the preferences of different customers. It goes a long way towards making sure that a hotel does not offer unnecessary services. Ivanov et al. (2017) posit that reduction of hospitality operation costs depends on the ability of a facility to predict future trends in consumer preferences and service offerings. Artificial intelligence equips hotels with analytical capacities that are essential in determining the character of future clients or traveler’s, thus ensuring that they are offered the correct packages. The application of artificial intelligence at the Red Roof Inn, for example, has proved to be effective in cost reduction. The hotel chain uses the technology to anticipate changes that it can exploit to its advantage. In 2014, the facility used predictive analytics to gather weather and flight data (Ivanov et al., 2017). It used the information to anticipate flight cancellations and to target affected customers.
In the past, the provision of room services required hotels to hire many employees to cater to the needs of different customers. It contributed to the increase in operation costs of hospitality businesses. Artificial intelligence has enabled hotels to offer voice-enabled virtual assistance services, which are more cost-effective (Kisilevich, Keim, & Rokach, 2013). Today, hotels do not need to hire many employees to provide in-room services to customers. Artificial intelligence supports voice technology, which allows hotels to offer excellent services to clients at low cost. Wynn Las Vegas is one of the hotels that have successfully reduced their operation costs through voice-enabled virtual assistance technology. It offers virtual assistance, which enables clients to or
Order this paper