School of Hospitality and Tourism - Te Kura Taurimatanga me te Mahi Tāpoi

Permanent link for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10292/686

The Hospitable Futures Research Agenda of AUT’s School of Hospitality and Tourism - Te Kura Taurimatanga me te Mahi Tāpoi promotes academic research that aims to have a social impact for a more hospitable and sustainable future.

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 282

Customizing Deeper Transformational Tourism Experiences for Vulnerable Tourists
(Intellect, 2024-10-01) Goh, Sandra; Sabharwal, Jagdeep Kaur; Thirumaran, K
Transformational tourism experiences can lead to acquiring life-changing knowledge, practices or beliefs. However, tourism scholars and suppliers have not fully exploited the concepts and opportunities that deeper transformational tourism brings to support mentally vulnerable tourists (with mental health conditions) since most studies focus on tourist experiences of typical travellers; there exists a knowledge gap on tourism service suppliers’ adequacy and preparedness to facilitate the provision and design of deeper transformational experiences. This article contributes to existing studies on transformational tourism and transformative experience design by shifting focus to a specialized community of unconventional travel suppliers as key contributors for deeper transformational travel experiences. It also considers the relationship of key stakeholders necessary for effective intervention in forming deeper transformational experiences. The latter calls for further studies to operationalize a conceptual framework and future study to assess the outcome of the transformation post-trip. This study also supports the need for collaboration beyond travel service suppliers to facilitate transformational tourism services.
Furthering Critical Approaches in Tourism and Hospitality Studies: Perspectives from Australia and New Zealand [Commentary]
(Australian Academic Press, 2008) Wilson, E; Harris, Candice; Small, J
Representations of Hospitality at The Special Needs Hotel
(Elsevier, 2018-10-03) McIntosh, Alison; Harris, Candice
Norms of ‘professionalism’ expected by the hospitality industry may create unrealistic and problematic expectations for employing people with learning disabilities. This study provides a first consideration of hospitality training for young people with learning difficulties. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the popular television documentary series The Special Needs Hotel, generating two key themes: hospitality as achieving independence; and hospitality as expectations. Hospitality training is seen as a means of enabling ‘independence’ for young people with learning disabilities with strategies used to ensure the trainees meet the necessary ‘expectations’ and requirements of hospitality work. However, this positive representation contrasts with the struggles, fear and realities of independence and hospitality work for the trainees themselves. Contributing to discourses of representation and notions of inclusion and exclusion in hospitality, this study provides an opportunity to review and vary what is expected of hospitality work to increase employment for people with disabilities.
Packing for Touristic Performances
(Elsevier, 2011-07-01) Hyde, KF; Olesen, K
Tourist behaviours can be viewed as performances on a variety of tourism stages. This article examines tourist packing practices as planning and preparation for touristic performances. Grounded theory methods are employed to analyze documentary sources in which tourists describe what and how they pack for air travel. The article presents a substantive theory of packing for travel. This theory is viewed through the lens of Giddens' grand theory of self-identity. The contents of a travel bag constitute the costumes and props a tourist believes will aid their performance in each tourism setting. Packing for travel is an act in which the tourist prioritises those items they believe will most assist the maintenance, construction and articulation of self-identity in new settings.
Negotiating the Impacts of Policy Interventions Among Tourism Organizations: Adaptation and Sensemaking
(Elsevier, 2021-06-01) Faisal, Abrar; Qi, H; Ka, X
Adaptation, as a response to changes in business environments, is imperative for organizations. Despite the significance of this issue to tourism businesses, the link between sensemaking and organizational adaptation is rarely studied in the context of policy intervention. This study investigates tourism organizations' adaptation strategies, using policy interventions for environmental protection in China as an example. Drawing upon interviews with 23 business owners and secondary documentary data, the results identify two stages of adaptation. In the first stage, there are convergent interpretations, and the sensemaking leads to reactive adaptions. In the second stage, the inconsistent policies stimulate various patterns of sensemaking among different types of businesses and lead to three approaches to adaptation: cost-based approach adaptation, targeted approach adaptation, and resilience-oriented approach adaptation. The analysis suggests livelihood diversification, occupation switching, and joining issue networks are common adaptation actions. Implications for policymakers and tourism organizations are discussed.
Determinants of Chinese Travellers’ Use of Mobile Payment Applications When Staying at an Overseas Hotel
(Informa UK Limited, 2023-04-02) Xu, P; Kim, CS; Bai, B; Kim, PB
This study examines the factors that determined the use of the mobile payment applications (apps) WeChat Pay and Alipay by Chinese travelers in a New Zealand hotel. It further investigates whether social influence has an impact on their use. The second Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model was used to develop and test research hypotheses using an online survey. The findings showed that performance expectancy, facilitating condition, perceived security and cost efficiency, significantly affected travelers’ intention, and that social influence intensified the impact of performance expectancy, while attenuating cost efficiency. Implications are discussed for researchers and practitioners.
Telepresence Experience and Human Behaviour: A Systematic and Comparative Review of Empirical Studies in Hospitality and Tourism Versus Other Contexts
(Emerald, 2025-10-31) Doan, Thanh-Thuy Thi Jessica; Goh, Sandra; Kim, Chloe S; Doan, Tin; Kim, Peter B
Purpose Empirical research into individuals’ telepresence experiences has been undertaken and adapted over decades. This study aims to systmatically reivew the literature of telepresence and its relationship with human behaviour across different settings for the period covering 1992–2023. Additionally, a cross-tabulation study was conducted to construct a detailed comparison of telepresence experiences in the hospitality and tourism context, with other contexts. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review methodology was used as a rigorous search approach to provide an overview of the existing literature on telepresence experience from the past 31 years. A total of 85 studies were selected for the purpose of this review, with 23 of these studies conducted in the hospitality and tourism context. Findings The findings offer significant insights into telepresence and suggest potential themes for future research relating to human behaviour within the telepresence experience. The study concludes with implications for future researchers and practitioners. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the current study is the first detailed review to comprehensively and meticulously analyse the impact of telepresence experience on human behaviour; the findings provide potential themes for future research into human behaviour and interaction. In addition, they offer advice to practitioners on how they can enhance their technological solutions to provide customers with improved telepresence experiences.
Smart Solutions for Tough Times: How AI Is Transforming New Zealand’s Food and Beverage Industry
(School of Hospitality & Tourism, Auckland University of Technology, 2025-10-02) Santoso, Carolin; Wang, Pola Q
Aotearoa New Zealand’s food and beverage (F&B) industry is facing significant challenges, including rising operational costs, workforce shortages, and increasing consumer demand for personalised and sustainable dining experiences. The impacts of inflation, supply chain disruptions, and changing market dynamics have placed substantial pressure on businesses to adapt quickly while maintaining profitability and customer satisfaction. In this complex environment, artificial intelligence (AI) may emerge as a valuable tool, offering practical solutions to enhance efficiency, optimise resource management, and improve customer experiences. Byautomating routine tasks, refining revenue management strategies, and supporting sustainability initiatives, AI may help businesses build resilience and maintain a competitive edge in a dynamic market. This study presents a discussion of the current opportunities and challenges associated with AI adoption in New Zealand’s F&B sector, drawing on secondary research sources to synthesise insights from recent literature and industry examples. Four key areas are explored where AI may add value to the sector: inventory management, operational efficiency in food production, customer service enhancement, and revenue maximisation. One critical area where AI is poised to add value to New Zealand’s F&B sector is inventory management. Through advanced predictive analytics, AI platforms can forecast consumer demand more accurately, enabling businesses to optimise inventory levels and minimise waste [1]. This targeted approach reduces costs associated with both overstocking or understocking, enhancing economic sustainability and improving service availability. Operational efficiency in food production has been significantly enhanced by AI- driven technologies that streamline processes from raw material preparation to final dish presentation. For example, IBM’s AI- powered Chef Watson utilises extensive culinary databases and algorithms to generate novel ingredient combinations, supporting restaurants in offering distinctive and personalised menus [2]. In the kitchen, AI can automate order management, prioritise tasks, andmaintain hygiene by using computer vision systems that assess ingredient freshness [3]. SkyCity Auckland’s adoption of water- cutting technologies and automated chocolate tempering machines illustrates how AI driven automation can boost production efficiency by performing tasks that previously required multiple staff members [4]. In addition to enhancing back-of-house operations, AI-powered technologies are increasingly supporting customer service delivery in the F&B sector. Self-service kiosks, chatbots, and QR code ordering systems can increase service efficiency and personalisation [5], although experiences can vary based on customers’ technological familiarity and preferences. For example, BellaBot from PUDU Robotics (deployed at Sudima Auckland Airport) supports waitstaff by delivering food to tables, thereby reducing physical workload and allowing staff to focus on complex interactions [6]. At Christchurch International Airport, the humanoid robot ‘Pepper’ interacts with guests by answering basic queries about airport facilities, providing directions, and promoting contactless engagement through verbal and touch free communication. Designed to offer a friendly and accessible service experience, Pepper helps manage guest flow in public spaces, particularly during peak travel times, and reduces the need for close human contact, which remains important in a post pandemic environment [7]. However, reliance on AI driven service delivery may risk diminishing the personalised, empathetic interactions traditionally valued in hospitality settings, particularly where human warmth and emotional intelligence are expected as part of the guest experience [8]. Dynamic pricing and revenue management are further enhanced by AI’s ability to effectively utilise real time data. New Zealand’s tourism businesses are increasingly adopting AI driven revenue management systems to adjust pricing dynamically, maximising profitability and responsiveness to market conditions [9]. AI systems continuously analyse variables, such as seasonal fluctuations, competitor pricing strategies, consumer preferences, and booking trends, enabling precise and flexible pricing decisions [10]. For example, online booking platforms operating across New Zealand (e.g., Book Me [11]) leverage AI to provide dynamic pricing based on real-time demand analytics, significantly increasing both competitiveness and customer engagement [12]. While AI adoption offers significant opportunities in New Zealand’s F&B sector—including inventory management, operational efficiency, customer service, and revenue optimisation—it requires a strategic and critical approach. Although AI can enhance operational accuracy and personalise service, concerns remain about the potential loss of human touch, uneven technological acceptance among guests, data privacy risks, and frontline staff displacement [5,8, 13]. Moreover, the increased reliance on automated interactions may conflict with New Zealand’s cultural emphasis on manaakitanga—the value placed on care, warmth, and human connection within hospitality experiences [8]. Businesses should adopt AI technologies thoughtfully, ensuring that operational efficiencies are balanced with the personalised service ethos valued by customers. A reliance on AI-driven data analysis will necessitate comprehensive governance frameworks to avoid biases and maintain ethical practices, while the successful integration of AI will depend on continuous training and upskilling of staff to work effectively alongside these systems. By maintaining a strategic perspective, the F&B industry can harness AI’s transformative potential while preserving the core values that underpin sustainable and resilient hospitality businesses.
Editorial: Editing for IMPACT: Clarity, Appeal, and Human Judgment in the Era of AI
(SAGE Publications, 2025-09-11) Miao, Li; van der Rest, Jean-Pierre; Kim, Peter B
Women Do the Most Cooking at Home. So Why Do Men Get to Hog the BBQ?
(The Conversation Media Group Ltd, 2025-09-23) Richardson, Rob; Ma, Dianne
The Role of the University in Making the Built Environment More Accessible and Inclusive for People With Disability: A Case Study From New Zealand
(Purdue University, USA, 2025-05-22) Flemmer, Claire; Flemmer, R; McIntosh, Alison; van Heerden, A; Boulic, M; Atapattu, C; Rotimi, J
The need to reduce inequality for people with disabilities is a strong theme in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Cities and communities should be inclusive, but the Built Environment has many buildings and spaces with problematic access features that make full participation impossible for this demographic. Universities can play an important role in addressing the issues underlying barriers to access and in providing clear steps for improvement and inclusion. The role involves interacting with all the key stakeholders including people with disabilities, disability advocacy organisations, construction professionals, legislators, students and the general public. This research demonstrates the role in a case study project by two New Zealand universities. A panel of experts with a lived experience of different disabilities provided oversight. The academics designed coursework to facilitate student engagement in the concepts of Universal Design and supervised student research involving building owners, advocacy organisations, construction professionals and people working in buildings. Presenting the research to audiences of legislators, construction professionals, advocacy groups and others interested in accessibility helped raise awareness amongst the stakeholders and led to a petition to the government with recommendations for achieving improved accessibility in the Built Environment. Other outputs included fact sheets for construction businesses, conference presentations, reports and articles for academic journals. The research plan may provide a useful roadmap for other academics to follow in their attempts to improve accessibility and inclusion in the Built Environment for people with disabilities.
Perceptions of People With Disabilities on the Accessibility of New Zealand’s Built Environment
(MDPI, 2025-08-28) Flemmer, Claire; McIntosh, Alison Jane
Accessing the built environment poses many challenges for people with disabilities, severely affecting their independence and quality of life. A panel of experts with a lived experience of disabilities co-designed a survey capturing the challenges in New Zealand’s public places. There were 319 survey respondents with impairments related to mobility (66.5%), vision (18.8%), hearing (5.0%), sensory processing and cognition (8.8%). They perceived sports stadiums as the least accessible venue, followed by bars, boutique shops and public toilets. The most accessible venues were supermarkets, libraries and shopping malls. The type of disability affected the main accessibility challenges. Significant outdoor barriers included uneven and cluttered paths, inadequate provision of curb cuts, seating and accessible parking spaces, and obscure wayfinding. Entrance barriers included heavy doors, complex access control, remote ramps and narrow, obscure entrances. Interior problems included cluttered paths and poor signage. The top priorities for improvement were simplifying layouts, keeping paths clear, and providing clear, inclusive signage, communication and assistance for people with varying impairments. Providing lower counters, better colour contrast, hearing loop facilities and better control of lighting and acoustics also improve accessibility. This research contributes novel experiential data from people with disabilities that is critical to achieving an inclusive built environment.
Ageing With Disability, Relationships and Relational Place Making: Bali Tourism Case Study
(Taylor and Francis Group, 2025-08-11) Cockburn-Wootten, Cheryl; Indrawati, Yayu; McIntosh, Alison
Bali has become a well-known island destination in Indonesia for senior tourists and Bali’s tourism strategy has indicated a desire to attract senior visitors. This study adopted an interpretative approach to examine how relational place making processes shape the embodied experiences of tourists who are ageing with disability within the destination of Bali. Joint interviews were conducted with six tourists ageing with disability and their travel companion, and 10 tourism providers. Our findings contribute insights into the relational lived world of ageing with disability and tourism for a destination that seeks to encourage this market. Focusing on ageing with disability, this paper contributes to challenging understandings of ageing and disability, with lived meanings within a tourism place evidenced as negotiable, often contested, and socially connected. Two key themes were found in our study relating to a sense of familiarity through the passage of time, and a sense of freedom to be relating to what it means to ‘be’ in tourist places, or, how tourists who are ageing with disability ‘are’ in the place. These findings contribute insights into the relational embodied perspectives of ageing with disability that could help facilitate agency, participation and inclusive relations with others within place making.
Thinking of Trekking to Everest Base Camp? Don’t Leave Home Without This Expert Advice
(The Conversation Media Group Ltd, 2025-07-18) Schänzel, Heike; Apollo, Michal
Generational Engagement With AI in Hospitality: Human–AI Interaction Perspectives Across the Service Process
(Informa UK Limited, 2025-07-04) Wang, Pola Q; Yan, Liwei; Santoso, Carolin
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into hospitality and tourism operations, it is essential to understand how employees from different generational cohorts engage with AI technologies in the workplace. This conceptual study introduces a generationally responsive framework to examine human AI engagement across three key service phases: pre-arrival, mid-arrival, and post-arrival. It distinguishes between two overarching modes of engagement: interaction, which includes coexistence, cooperation, and collaboration, and collaboration itself, which involves complementarity and augmentation models. Drawing on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), the framework applies four key dimensions: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions to explain how generational characteristics influence AI perceptions and behaviours. A unique contribution of this study is the identification of an emerging autonomous decision support model, especially relevant for Generation Z, in which AI makes and implements service decisions independently with minimal human involvement. These generational patterns vary across service tasks and reflect broader differences in digital fluency, workplace expectations, and trust in technology. The study concludes that effective AI integration in hospitality requires alignment with the values, preferences, and interaction styles of a multigeneration workforce.
Authoritarian Versus Benevolent Leadership Styles: A Moderated Mediation Model of Paternalistic Leadership, Engagement, Job Status and Hospitality Employee Service Performance
(Elsevier BV, 2026-01) Thawornlamlert, Pattamol Kanjanakan; Wang, Pola Q; Zhu, Dan; Kim, Peter B
This study examined whether work engagement mediated the impact of paternalistic leadership styles on the service performance of hospitality employees and further investigated if job status (full-time vs. part-time) moderated the impact of paternalistic leadership styles, based on the affective event and partial inclusion theories. Through an analysis of matching data from 286 restaurant employees and their 2129 customers in Thailand, the study found that work engagement mediated the effect of authoritarian leadership, a dimension of paternalistic leadership (father-like) on service interaction quality rated by customers, and that the mediation effect was stronger for full-time employees than for their part-time counterparts. However, the effect of benevolent leadership, the other dimension of paternalistic leadership (mother-like) was neither mediated by work engagement, nor moderated by job status. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed for hospitality researchers and practitioners.
Progress or Regress in Phenomenological Research in Tourism?: An Epistemological Assessment of Bibliometric Analysis and Visualisation Tools
(SAGE Publications, 2024-11-25) Pernecky, Tomas; Faisal, Abrar
Phenomenology has become a popular approach in studying tourism experiences, rising to the forefront of methodological practice in the field. While phenomenological research numbered only in the dozens before the millennium, its application has since expanded to hundreds of studies. This rapid growth not only calls for a meta-analytical examination but also provides an opportunity to assess the suitability of various methodological tools and software for data construction, analysis, and visualization. This study is the first to critically examine the veracity of potential knowledge claims arising from the use of bibliographic data and VOSviewer by conducting a meta-analysis of phenomenological research in tourism. The results reveal that, despite VOSviewer’s visually appealing imagery, notable epistemological pitfalls exist. The critical insights offered are valuable for navigating the evolving technological and methodological landscape in the field, particularly in understanding tourism experiences.
Postleisure: Disrupting the Disciplinary Fixity of Leisure Thinking
(Elsevier BV, 2025-06-21) Pernecky, Tomas
This paper is a postdisciplinary exploration of leisure and the conceptual corollaries of recreation and adventure. It seeks to broaden the ontological discourse in the field and demonstrate that alternative approaches to theorising about and studying leisure, recreation, and tourism are possible – if not necessary – amid concerns and critiques stemming from posthumanism, climate change, decoloniality, and the mobilities of hope and despair. It is argued that leisure as an object of inquiry has been largely possible due to the fragmentation of being, namely the creation of dichotomies that juxtapose different states of being. By dismantling the disciplinary confines of leisure, it is shown that leisure and recreation can be reconsidered vis-à-vis empirical ontology as deeper engagement with questions of being and becoming in lived contexts and in relation to other entities and things. The suggested pathway of thinking beyond leisure might be valued particularly by emerging conceptual and ethical pioneers keen to reexamine and reimagine how we are in and become with the world.
Beyond Exchange: Decoding Reciprocal Hospitableness in Luxury Lodge Experiences
(Elsevier, 2025-01-22) Manfreda, Anita; Harkison, Tracy-Lesley
Hospitableness in luxury hospitality is key for guest experience differentiation. Despite increasing attention, limited research has investigated how hospitableness is reciprocated and how such reciprocation extends beyond the guest-host relationship. By employing a multiple-case study design, this study proposes a model of reciprocal hospitableness underpinning the luxury lodges experience from a multi-stakeholder perspective. The findings reveal how hospitableness, which includes aspects like altruism/generosity, sense of belonging/fictive kinship, meaningful connection, comfort/homely atmosphere, and inclusivity, is reciprocated among guests, hosts, and other stakeholders, uncovering the practices and behaviours that promote this mutual exchange. The model contributes to theory and practice on hospitableness, social exchange and reciprocity, transformative luxury research, and sustainable luxury. It emphasises hospitableness as essential for the luxury lodging industry's sustainability, impacting economic, environmental, and social aspects. It advocates for reciprocal hospitableness, involving guests, staff, local communities, and environments in reshaping luxury tourism's impact.
Do Culinary Competitions Have Any Real Benefit?
(School of Hospitality & Tourism, Auckland University of Technology, 2024-12-09) Scott, Geoff

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