Linchi Kwok, Ph.D.

Robotic service is one of the trends that the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated. The demand for AI-powered automatic services comes from both consumers and businesses.   Consumers get used to automatic services   Many restaurant chains and (food) retail businesses have already rolled out contactless self-service through mobile apps, kiosks, and facial/palm recognition technology. When the lockdown was in place, restaurant and foodservice facilities only operated for pickup or delivery services. Many consumers tried curbside pickup and delivery service of their favorite eateries for the first time because of the lockdown. During the pandemic, the delivery business was one of the few sectors that got a boost.     Now that consumers have experienced the convenience of contactless self-service, they may continue using it in future purchases. As machines, instead of real human beings, often perform those automatic services, it is safe to predict that machines will soon replace more foodservice

Speaking of the permanent changes in the hospitality industry, many people will probably agree that demands for “bleisure”/“work-from-anywhere” travel and contactless self-service will continue to grow in the near future. Not everyone, however, realizes that data-driven decisions will become a key driver for growth in the industry, which has already affected how we do business now.   Automatic service enables businesses to capture more operational and consumer data for business decisions   One advantage of using automatic service comes from its ability to spontaneously capture and store real-time operational and consumer data for additional analysis. In the old-time when businesses still relied on workers to serve customers, operational data were collected usually through careful book-keeping, documentations, and observations; consumer data through market research were often limited to their perceptions, behavioral intentions, or past experience.     Now that automatic service is provi

Are you looking for a change in your career? Or, do you want to take a break at work? If either scenario describes you, going back to school may be a good option. Then, the question arises --- how do I pick the right hospitality management school that helps my future career?   Advice on selecting the right bachelor’s program   Because many accredited four-year hospitality programs offer similar courses, location, career opportunities, and tuition/cost of livings become the top influential factors. First and foremost, I recommend that people enroll in a program where they want to live after graduation. They should begin building their career networks as students since many career opportunities come from the faculty and people who know the local businesses well. For example, if I want to live in New York City (NYC), I will find a program there and work part-time while going to school. If my dream job is to work in a mega-casino, I will choose a program in Las Vegas instead of NYC.     Se

The COVID-19 pandemic had no doubt made an unprecedented impact on the hospitality and tourism industry. Yet, some products, such as home-sharing, extended stays, and quick-service restaurants, were able to adapt to the new changes quickly. Hence, they were not affected as much. Others might still need extra time to get back on their feet.      It might seem that the global pandemic forced businesses to respond to the new changes in the market, but the truth is COVID-19 just accelerated many of the foreseeable changes we have already expected for the future. The businesses that can navigate through the COVID-19 crisis quickly are usually the ones that are flexible and have already made plans in response to the foreseeable future.     Now that the economy is getting ready for a strong recovery, it becomes critical for businesses to take a holistic approach in planning. Dealing with the operational issues on an ad-hoc basis will not work anymore because many of the changes we observed in

The U.S. economy finally shows signs of a strong recovery from the pandemic. Nevertheless, the surging delta variant cases, inflation, and the global supply chain disruption, among other concerns, add considerable uncertainty to the economic outlook. Notably, the hospitality and tourism industry is unlikely to recover any time soon. On the one hand, there is no real sense of recovery until people are  traveling for business  again. Yet, more companies  have postponed the return-to-office plan  and let employees continue  working from home . On the other hand, the industry is facing an  extreme labor shortage  that slows down its recovery. A restaurant shut down after the entire staff quit Last week,  a burrito chain restaurant in Georgia  was forced to shut down because its entire staff quit. The staff put a sign in the front of the restaurant, saying that they had worked seven days a week for a month. They barely had any time off. Eventually, they quit due to being underpaid and a lac

  "The customer  is not always right , but your job is never to show them how they're wrong. Your job is to be professional, courteous, accommodating … even (and especially) under stress."   — Steve Dorfman, Driven to Excel When consumers know they are always right, they may breed a sense of superiority or entitlement, expecting the frontline employees to comply with any customer behaviors. A  report  shows that 98% of service employees had experienced unpleasant customer behaviors; over 50% of employees encountered rude customers at least once a week. In  a more recent case , a female customer pulled out a gun and fired shots at Burger King because she felt it took too long to receive the order. In organizational research, consumers' unpleasant behaviors toward the service staff are often referred to as either consumer incivility or consumer mistreatment. Current literature has identified customer mistreatment's negative effects on employees' psychological st

The  COVID-19 pandemic  is a once-in-a-generation crisis with  lasting economic and societal consequences . Crises and disasters often bring unpredictable catastrophic  changes  to the market. Yet, effective management of a crisis can help businesses reduce the event's negative impacts and shorten the recovery time. As the global economy  begins to recover , businesses are making  changes to adapt  to the post-pandemic world. For example, more companies now let employees  work from home  permanently. When people work remotely and classes are taught online, social media plays an even more critical role in crisis communication than before. Research identifying the types of social media messages that get people's attention during the COVID-19 pandemic is timely and helpful in supporting business decisions regarding crisis communication. The empirical study about crisis communication strategies on social media I worked with Drs.  Jungwoo Lee  at Yonsei University in South Korea and

Are you traveling this summer? If so, I hope you have already made plans/arrangements for the trips because everything is getting pricier as more Americans are hitting the roads again.   This WSJ report/video helps explain why rental cars are getting so expensive these days. Are you still looking for a last-minute deal? Here are a few tips: How to find low prices during travel's dynamic pricing era .  Summer travel tips to save money at the last minute .  Last-minute ideas, expert advice about summer travel from "The Points Guy" Brian Kelly .  Note: The picture was downloaded from  the Time magazine. 

Do you shop at Dollar General? I don't, but I shop at the 99 Cents Only Stores, not because I don't like Dollar General, more because there is a 99 Cents Only Store in the neighborhood.  Do you wonder why Dollar General is doing so well even during the pandemic? Check out this Wall Street Journal video for more insights.  Do you believe its growth will continue after the pandemic?  Note: The picture shows Dollar General's first new small-format store called DGX in Nashville, TN (opened in Janurary 2017). The picture was downloaded from TheShelbyReport.com .