Between Algorithms and Attentiveness: AI, Psychology and Front Desk Transformation in Indian Mid-Market Hospitality

This paper investigates the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in front desk operations across 600 hotels situated in India’s tier-2 cities. As the hospitality sector grows rapidly in mid-market urban centers, hotels face a dual challenge: sustaining service quality and managing cost efficiency under labour constraints. Front desk operations, traditionally reliant on intensive human labour, are increasingly adopting AI technologies such as chatbots, voice assistants, sentiment-analysis systems, and automated check-in/out platforms. Drawing on psychology-technology frameworks, particularly the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), this study develops a novel hybrid instrument-the Cognitive–Affective Service Acceptance Framework (CASAF)-to capture both employee adaptation and guest experience. Using survey data from 600 hotels, supplemented with semi-structured interviews in Dehradun, Lucknow, Bhopal and Kochi, the paper identifies three critical insights: (1) AI reduces operational friction but shifts the cognitive and emotional burden for staff from routine to exception management; (2) guest satisfaction hinges less on automation itself than on perceived empathy in hybrid service encounters; (3) tier-2 city hotels leverage AI primarily as a cost-containment tool rather than a guest-delight strategy, raising strategic tensions. The findings contribute to management studies by advancing a psychology-informed model for technology adoption in services, while also offering actionable insights for hotel managers in emerging urban markets.