Willingness-to-pay for robot-delivered tourism and hospitality services-An exploratory study

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate potential consumers' willingness to pay for robot-delivered services in travel, tourism and hospitality, and the factors that shape their willingness to pay. Design/methodology/approach: An online survey yielded a sample of 1,573 respondents from 99 countries. Independent samples t-test, Analysis of variance (ANOVA), cluster, factor and regression analyses were used. Findings: Respondents expected to pay less for robot-delivered services than human-delivered services. Two clusters were identified: one cluster willing to pay nearly the same price for robotic services as for human-delivered services, whilst the other expected deep discounts for robotic services. The willingness-to-pay was positively associated with the attitudes towards robots in tourism, robotic service experience expectations, men and household size. It was negatively associated to travel frequency, age and education. Research limitations/implications: The paper's main limitation is its exploratory nature and the use of a hypothetical scenario in measuring respondents' willingness to pay. The data were gathered prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and do not reflect the potential changes in perceptions of robots due to the pandemic. Practical implications: Practitioners need to focus on improving the attitudes towards robots in tourism because they are strongly and positively related to the willingness to pay. The marketing messages need to form positive expectations about robotic services. Originality/value: This is one of the first papers to investigate consumers' willingness to pay for robot-delivered services in travel, tourism and hospitality and factors that shape their willingness to pay. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Perceived barriers to the implementation of social distancing in the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran during 2020-2021: A cross-sectional study.

Background and Aims: This research has been on the effective role of social distancing in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and the obstacles to its implementation. The results of this research can highlight the major barriers to distancing and suggest appropriate solutions to remove them. Methods: We conducted this cross-sectional study during 2020-2021 among 277 faculty members, students of medical universities and ordinary people of Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran. We included them in this study by sampling at convenience. The data collection tool was a researcher-constructed questionnaire that we distributed among the statistical sample through social networks (WhatsApp and Telegram). Results: Mean ± SD = economic barriers 4.49 (0.65), cultural barriers 4.48 (0.70), social barriers 4.40 (0.61), political barriers 4.28 (0.64), educational barriers in universities and schools 4.27 (0.53) and Educational barriers at societal level 3.82 (1.08) were the self-reported obstacles (perceived) to social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Comparison of occupational groups with faculty members showed that only scores of academic barriers have a significant difference between occupational groups (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The role of economic barriers, cultural barriers and social barriers in social distancing was very prominent. One of our remarkable results was that there is adequate training for people on the proper implementation of the principles of social distance in the prevention of the Covid-19 pandemic. The responsibility of all members of society to observe social distancing as a moral and even legal duty can be the first step to protect the health of citizens against COVID-19. We can, therefore, use some planned interventions. This must be within the framework of economic, cultural, social and political structures of society.

Vitamin D status: a U-shaped relationship for SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity in UK healthcare workers.

BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that vitamin D (VD) deficiency may increase individuals' risk of COVID-19 infection and susceptibility. We aimed to determine the relationship between VD deficiency and sufficiency and COVID-19 seropositivity within healthcare workers. METHODS: The study included an observational cohort of healthcare workers who isolated due to COVID-19 symptoms from 12 May to 22 May 2020, from the University Hospitals Birmingham National Health Service Foundation Trust. Data collected included SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion status, serum 25(OH)D3 levels, age, body mass index (BMI), sex, ethnicity, job role and comorbidities. Participants were grouped into four VD categories: (1) Severe VD deficiency (VD<30 nmol/L); (2) VD deficiency (30 nmol/L ≤VD<50 nmol/L); (3) VD insufficiency (50 nmol/L ≤VD<75 nmol/L); (4) VD sufficiency (VD≥75 nmol/L). RESULTS: When VD levels were compared against COVID-19 seropositivity rate, a U-shaped curve was identified. This trend repeated when participants were split into subgroups of age, sex, ethnicity, BMI and comorbidity status. Significant difference was identified in the COVID-19 seropositivity rate between VD groups in the total population and between groups of men and women; black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) group; BMI<30 (kg/m2); 0 and +1 comorbidities; the majority of which were differences when the severely VD deficient category were compared with the other groups. A larger proportion of those within the BAME group (vs white ethnicity) were severely VD deficient (p<0.00001). A larger proportion of the 0 comorbidity subgroup were VD deficient in comparison to the 1+ comorbidity subgroup (p=0.046). CONCLUSIONS: Our study has shown a U-shaped relationship for COVID-19 seropositivity in UK healthcare workers. Further investigation is required to determine whether high VD levels can have a detrimental effect on susceptibility to COVID-19 infection. Future randomised clinical trials of VD supplementation could potentially identify 'optimal' VD levels, allowing for targeted therapeutic treatment for those at risk.

Book review - Tourism Crises and Destination Recovery

The cover features an active volcano, a visual that illustrates a clear environmental problem. [...]Chapters 4–12 each include a number of case studies illustrating detail about the issues covered within each chapter, which is another feature attractive to instructors. [...]if one uses single chapters in the book rather than uses the whole book as a holistic reading, the existence of a shorter reference section at the end of a shorter reading may be helpful. Since the book is pragmatic and looks upon the pragmatic aspects of destination recovery rather than more approaches to destination recovery, it is possible that a person may want more theory than the book offers.

Krisenmanagement und Zukunftsstrategien für den alpinen Tourismus: Schweizer Jahrbuch für Tourismus 2020/2021

The final section consists of three chapters that are devoted to the topic of destinations and regions, highlighting issues in destination management. Another good example of a chapter based upon very empirical issues is Richard Jenitschek and Christian Buer's contribution which is a fairly interesting and thorough statistical analysis of data from a survey with regards to guest experience and customer satisfaction. [...]Daniel Fischer and Curdin Bergamin's chapter would be an interesting primer on crisis management in tourism and would be a good starting point for an assignment on the resilience of the hospitality and tourism industry following a shock.

Hotels hurting horrifically but hopeful: A case study of the Indianapolis hotel industry

Purpose: The authors delve into the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the hotel industry in Indianapolis in comparison to its competition. The impact of the virus on the hotel industry was analyzed for Indianapolis and its major competitors (Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis, San Antonio and Kansas City) to learn about how severe the impact is and attain insight into how these destinations can rebound. Methods: This paper uses data from Smith Travel Research (STR), a service that produces daily hotel metrics often cited in mainstream media and academic journals. This secondary data source gathers data from participating hotels to obtain a sample of data on occupancy, average daily rate (ADR), and revenue per available room (RevPAR). The trends in the data are compared over time and between cities in the analysis. Results: The findings illustrate that the hotel industry in Indianapolis was able to replace some transient visitors with contracts and group bookings, suggesting that proactive and assertive policies have assisted in the management of the crisis. Implications: The findings from the analysis illustrate that leveraging innovative policies and looking at new markets may assist in the rebounding of convention tourism in Indianapolis and its competitors.

Lessons for Managing Academic Excellence in a Crisis: Experiential Learning

Family and consumer sciences (FCS) has a long history in embracing the value of hands-on, project-based learning in the classroom. The value of this learning style extends beyond the classroom through internships and other types of experiential learning. FCS literature is replete with examples from the early years of the profession to more recent years (e.g., Bell & Haley, 1995;Branegan & Spafford, 1949;Brooks & Simpson, 2014;Dobbs-Oates, 2019;Hurst et al., 2014;Olson & Montgomery, 2000). Internships are traditionally one of the most popular ways to try out a potential career path and get real-life work experience. For many academic programs, internships are part of the curriculum. In many programs that are aligned with an FCS curriculum, there is a requirement to have an internship experience. However, the recent pandemic has illustrated that the ability to complete an internship may be dependent upon the predictability of the business environment in which such educational experiences can take place.

Rapid implementation and validation of a cold-chain free SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing workflow to support surge capacity.

BACKGROUND: In January 2020 reports of unidentified severe respiratory illness were described in Wuhan, China. A rapid expansion in cases affecting most countries around the globe led to major changes in the way people live their daily lives. In the United Kingdom, the Department of Health and Social Care directed healthcare providers to establish additional resources to manage the anticipated surge in cases that could overwhelm the health services. A priority area was testing for SARS-CoV-2 RNA and its detection by qualitative RT-PCR. DESIGN: A laboratory workflow twinning research environment with clinical laboratory capabilities was implemented and validated in the University of Birmingham within 4 days of the project initiation. The diagnostic capability was centred on an IVD CE-marked RT-PCR kit and designed to provide surge capacity to the nearby Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The service was initially tasked with testing healthcare workers (HCW) using throat swabs, and subsequently the process investigated the utility of using saliva as an alternative sample type. RESULTS: Between the 8th April 2020 and the 30th April 2020, the laboratory tested a total of 1282 HCW for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in throat swabs. RNA was detected in 54 % of those who reported symptoms compatible with COVID-19, but in only 4% who were asymptomatic. CONCLUSION: This capability was established rapidly and utilised a cold-chain free methodology, applicable to a wide range of settings, and which can provide surge capacity and support to clinical laboratories facing increasing pressure during periods of national crisis.

Biosecurity, crisis management, automation technologies and economic performance of travel, tourism and hospitality companies – A conceptual framework

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 will have a significant influence on travel, tourism and hospitality (TTH) globally. With a massive reduction in tourism globally because of the health crisis, the industry will have to plan recovery and rebuilding of the industry with greater consideration of the biosecurity of customers. A critical element in the reorganisation of the industry will involve the increased incorporation of automation technologies. This article adopts a supply-side perspective and elaborates on the opportunities that automation technologies provide to TTH companies to mitigate the negative impacts of biosecurity threats on their economic performance. It discusses the costs and benefits of the incorporation of increased levels of automation, especially in regard to the benefits of the safety and health of the consumer. It elaborates on how the current pandemic would stimulate the adoption of automation technologies. Finally, the article discusses how this fit into the business models of tourism-related industries and outlines the micro- and macroeconomic implications of the greater incorporation of automation into the industry.