Ms YANG Yu Jin, undergraduate student in the BSc in Hotel Management programme from the School of Hotel and Tourism Management of PolyU, secured the Second Runner-Up position in the Best Paper Award at the APacCHRIE 2024 Youth Conference, held in Seoul between 24 and 26 May. Her awarded paper, titled “AI-supportive or Vigilant in the Hospitality Industry: Integrating Employee and Consumer Views to Extend the TAM and AIDUA Models,” was supervised by Dr HUANG Ivanka, Research Assistant Professor of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management.

The paper extends the Technology Acceptance Model and the Awareness, Interest, Desire, Understanding, and Action model. The interviews with customers and employees reveal that the setting of exposure can influence customers’ and employees’ support and vigilance toward AI bots. Private settings trigger stronger opposition from AI-sceptical individuals, while public settings attenuate this sentiment. As such, when it comes to introducing AI-empowered robots, it is recommended to start with public areas, prioritise addressing employees’ attitudes, and seek their support for AI implementation.

The conference was organised by the Asia-Pacific Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (APacCHRIE).