Adoption of smart technology in Croatian hotels

The research has proven that the respondents are relatively unsatisfied with the current smart technology implementation in the hotel product and that they are ready to except a higher level of implemented smart technologies.

Abstract

The technology development is unquestionably affecting the development of the society as a whole. The contemporary, new, high and so-called smart or intelligent technologies are progressively cutting across different spheres of social and economic life. The oversupply of the tourism market, hotel industry in particular, has stimulated the hoteliers by implementing innovations to try to find the best way to differentiate and give prominence to their hotel facility among the large number of its competitors. They have been stimulated to implement smart technologies in their hotel facility by several primary reasons: differentiation and business cost reduction for the purpose of gaining competitive advantages, but first of all - gaining a better understanding of the hotel guests' needs and a quality level improvement of the existing hotel service. This paper examines the tourism demand readiness to accept the tourism product innovations. The research has been conducted by survey method of random sampling 106 hotel guests in the area of the city of Zadar. The given results have then been analysed by descriptive statistics methods. The Technology Readiness Index (TRI) has been calculated based upon which the tourists' readiness to use innovative tourism products has been determined. The research has proven that the respondents are relatively unsatisfied with the current smart technology implementation in the hotel product and that they are ready to except a higher level of implemented smart technologies.