What makes an AI-themed hotel successful? New evidence from a sequential research design

PurposeAlthough artificial intelligence (AI) is an essential component of hospitality in the technological empowerment era, AI's effectiveness as an attraction in this context remains unclear. Grounded in Herzberg's motivation theory and complexity theory, this study aims to explore configurational paths whereby combinations of qualities lead to success for different types of AI-themed hotels.Design/methodology/approachThis study innovatively blends topic modeling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to investigate configurational paths whereby combined qualities produce positive guest evaluations of 12 AI-themed hotels as evidenced by 7,431 customer reviews.FindingsThe results indicate that AI could serve as a "theme" to attract customers under certain circumstances. First, "attractive" and "must-be" qualities are first identified for different types of AI-themed hotels. Furthermore, 6, 15 and 15 configurational paths inspiring favorable guest evaluations of luxury-independent, budget-independent and chain AI-themed hotels, respectively. Technology-related qualities are found to be especially attractive for luxury-independent AI-themed hotels, whereas the role of technology is minimal for budget AI-themed hotels. The impact of technology is salient for chain AI-themed hotels when combined with other factors. In addition, the effect of price differs among the configurational paths for the three hotel types.Research limitations/implicationsThis study expands the understanding of AI applications within the hospitality context by exploring the role of AI in AI-themed hotels and comparing its effectiveness in attracting customers across various hotel types. It also provides operational strategies for adopting AI for different types of hotels and for other hospitality and tourism sectors.Originality/valueThis study represents an early attempt to integrate topic modeling and fsQCA to clarify customers' perceptions of AI-themed hotels and the combined impacts of various qualities. The findings expand on Kano's model by classifying technology-related qualities into attractive qualities within AI-themed hotels.