Hotel guest-robot interaction experience: A scale development and validation

Service robots is an emerging topic in tourism and hospitality industry. The success of service robots' adoption primarily lies in effective tourist-robot interaction. However, little research has fully explored tourist perception of interaction with service robots. This study aimed to develop a scale for measuring guest-robot interaction experience in hotel context. We utilized a rigorous scale development procedure. First, the construct domain was specified. Second, items were generated by literature review and interviews and then estimated by content validity. Third, data was collected to test the measures: 345 respondents were used for item purification and 307 respondents for scale validation. Ultimately, a four-dimensional (perceived competence, sense of closeness, interaction comfort, and pleasant experience) scale with 18 items was confirmed. This study contributes by providing a useful tool for comprehensively understanding hotel guests' perception of interaction with service robots and future related research. Implications for hotel management and directions for further research are also discussed.