What Influences Potential Users’ Intentions to Use Hotel Robots?

The application of intelligent robots will change the service model of hotels. However, users’ willingness to use robots in hotels is not so strong. The research aims to identify the factors influencing potential consumers’ intention to use hotel robots. Based on the technology acceptance model and social presence theory, this study constructs a hotel robot acceptance model (HRAM), and this model includes seven variables: social presence, perceived playfulness, trust, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude, and willingness to use hotel robots. The research involved a combination of quantitative (N = 261) and qualitative (N = 20) methods used to collect data on potential hotel customers in China, and structural equation modeling was applied for verification. The research results showed that social presence positively influences perceived playfulness, attitude, and trust, with an indirect influence on users’ behavioral intention to use hospitality robots. Perceived ease of use has a positive impact on perceived usefulness; it also positively affects users’ attitudes. Perceived playfulness, perceived usefulness, attitude, and trust positively influence consumers’ behavioral intention to use hospitality robots. This research reveals the influence of social presence, perceived playfulness, trust, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and attitude on users’ willingness to use hotel robots. This research expands the technology acceptance model and its application fields so that the model can serve as a theoretical framework for studies on hotel user behaviors. The findings can provide reference and guidance for the design of hospitality robots, the innovation of hospitality service models, and the decision-making of hospitality managers. The R&D of new hotel robots can lead to higher user acceptance and expand the model applications, thus advancing the sustainable development of hotel tourism.