Hotels, restaurants and destinations are experimenting with generative AI, from automated marketing copy to personalized travel recommendations. But in an industry built on human connection, the stakes are high.
New research co-authored by Tingting Zhang, associate professor at the University of South Florida, offers a roadmap for navigating both the promise and the pitfalls. The article appears in the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research.
The study synthesizes insights from more than 30 hospitality and tourism scholars and industry practitioners. The result is the REFLECT framework, which outlines seven factors that shape how generative AI affects organizations: resource-based capabilities, ethical concerns, financial implications, legal considerations, internal education, organizational culture and technological infrastructure.
These factors determine whether AI leads to value co-creation, such as improved personalization, operational efficiency and better decision-making, or value co-destruction, including bias, privacy risks, workforce disruption and loss of customer trust.
The research emphasizes that hospitality remains fundamentally peoplecentered. While generative AI can streamline routine tasks and support employees, excessive reliance or weak governance may undermine creativity, well-being and authentic service experiences.
For managers and policymakers, the message is clear: success with generative AI depends less on adopting the latest tool and more on building the right capabilities and guardrails.
Authors: Tarik Dogru and Nathan Line, Florida State University; Makarand Mody, Boston University; Tingting Zhang, University of South Florida; Je’Anna Abbott, University of Houston; et al.