Priority? The Combination of Intelligent Services and Warm Services in Cross-strait Hotel Service Delivery Processes

Purpose – Combining “intelligent” and “warm” services has become a new strategy for improving service touch-points and customer experiences. This research discusses how to appropriately integrate intelligent and warm services into service delivery processes to optimize the service touch-points within customer journeys and increase service values. Design/methodology/approach – Top managers of 13 intelligent hotels were interviewed, 18,879 online customer reviews were compiled, and on-site observation and recordation were conducted. Findings – Intelligent services cannot wholly resolve customer pain points, as key service touchpoints require combining warm and intelligent services to increase service value. Research limitations/implications – Follow-up research can adopt more quantitative surveys to obtain more reliable general results. Practical implications/Social implications – The appropriate combination of intelligent and warm services within service delivery processes can help to improve customer experiences. The smart hotels on both sides of the strait have their respective strengths reflected in their business competitiveness. Originality/value – This research is a pioneer study that explores “intelligent services” and “warm services” from a theoretical perspective and can help improve service touch-points and foster customer journey experiences.