Digitalisation Advances and Hospitality Service Encounters

Abstract

A new hospitality concept gives more autonomy to the clients and mobility to the front-line employees. The objective of this research was to observe in situ the actors, customers and receptionists, operating in renewed lobbies. The research questions focus on how customers respond to the increased expectations of self-production and the way front-line employees adapt to their new roles. The review of literature highlights the importance of the service production process, its stages and customer integration in the innovative process. A study was conducted in a 4-star pilot Parisian hotel affiliated to a major French hotel group. 490 non-participant observations, based on encounters of service were collected. The findings show the gap between the project's philosophy and the behavior of the actors on the ground. Managerial recommendations are presented.