Gender preferences for hotel robots…

Turns out the sex of a robot makes a difference! While we might look at stereotyping issues, this research points out that preference is still biased to the female in this service industry. Read on…

Seo evaluated responses to service robots in hotels and found that “female service robots generated more pleasure and higher satisfaction compared to that of male service robots, and its influence is amplified when the level of anthropomorphism is high [the robots are more human-like] rather than low. Findings highlight the benefit of female service robots in a hotel setting which is only effective when the service robot is humanized, which provides useful guidelines for hoteliers when applying service robots in their service settings.”

Soobin Seo.  2022. “When Female (Male) Robot Is Talking to Me:  Effect of Service Robots’ Gender and Anthropomorphism on Customer Satisfaction.”  International Journal of Hospitality Management, vol. 102, 103166, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2022.103166