Psychometric approaches to exploring the characteristics of smart hotel brand experiences: Scale development and validation

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) and its application in the hotel industry has reshaped the concept of hotel brand management. In this study, we present an investigation of the impact of AI on the hotel brand experience by identifying underlying factors that best describe interaction with AI services. We utilized a mixed-methods research approach to develop and validate a smart hotel brand experiences scale; first, we conducted an exploratory qualitative study to conceptualize smart hotel brand experiences and formulate their underlying constructs and measures. A quantitative study followed to confirm the validity and reliability of the qualitative results. The study produced the following four constructs: anthropomorphic, affective, entertaining, and escapism experiences, and nomological validity was successfully fulfilled. The results suggest that experiences with AI services are essential for enhancing hotel brand values and provide a framework for future empirical studies in this emerging area.