Unlocking my heart: Fostering hotel brand love with service robots

While the presence of robots in the hotel industry is undeniable, there remains a wealth of untapped potential for service robots in shaping and promoting hotel brands. The present study seeks to address this issue by proposing and validating a research model that includes the effects of perceived anthropomorphism, perceived intelligence, and perceived animacy on authenticity, which serves as a prerequisite for brand love. An online questionnaire on self-administration was administered to 324 respondents. Through the use of a multi-analytical hybrid structural equation modeling-artificial neural network (SEM-ANN) technique, the obtained data was empirically validated. This research provides (i) an indication that service authenticity and brand authenticity are prerequisites for users to experience hotel brand love from hotel robots, (ii) two key aspects that influence the service authenticity of robots through human-like and technological characteristics, and (iii) an exploration of the further impact of human-like attributes on brand authenticity in the use of robotic services in hotels. In conclusion, these results have important theoretical and practical insights that can help advance the hotel and tourism industry.