Meeting the needs of physically disabled tourists: use of service robots toward the hotel attachment

Purpose This study aims to focus on tourists with physical disabilities and examine their perceptions of service robots in hotels and their influence on the overall experience, behavioral intentions and hotel attachment. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted via the Prolific platform to collect data from 409 respondents. The data was analyzed using partial least squares–based SEM. Findings The salient PLS-SEM findings show that perceived safety and functional benefits significantly affect a hotel's overall experience and intention to revisit. Perceived privacy did not relate to the hotel's overall experience and intention to revisit. Moreover, the hotel's overall experience significantly affects the intention to revisit, further influencing hotel attachment. Research limitations/implications This research only examines the perceptions of tourists with physical disabilities of hotel service robots. Findings are based on a survey, and thus, the results cannot be generalized. Originality/value Current research indicates the impact of the intention to revisit and hotel attachment. Moreover, this study investigates the mediating role of overall hotel experience in the association between perceived privacy, perceived safety and functional benefits regarding revisit intention.