Beyond the hype, the future of work in hospitality and tourism
Location: Hotel Management School Leeuwarden, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
Date and Time: April 23rd, 2025, at 9:30 GMT+1
In a time of artificial intelligence breakthroughs and labour shortages, the most recent webinar “Future of Work” (April 23, 2025) scrutinized the technical change of hospitality and tourism related to Human Resource. Three professionals – Georges El Hajal, Professor Tom Baum, Professor Ian Yeoman – offered different points of view on the function of technology, therefore posing serious concerns regarding what might be done against what should be done.
The ethical dimensions of technological replacement
Professor Baum challenged the industry’s technological determinism with a provocative question: “Should there be a future for frontline service work?” While acknowledging that most service roles are technologically replaceable, Baum emphasized the social consequences of elimination. “We could create tourism experiences which are people-free,” he noted, but questioned the broader implications for marginalized communities who depend on these jobs. And here the question surfaced: could we, or should we?
The disturbing reality Baum highlighted is that hospitality workers remain among the lowest-paid across most economies, with disadvantaged groups-women, migrants, and youth-overrepresented in frontline positions. The paradox is striking: the industry simultaneously exploits vulnerable workers while providing crucial employment opportunities for those excluded elsewhere. The question remains: is any job better than no job? And what are our responsibilities in this; economical, ethical, and social? What do we want from future work?
Scenarios of technological disruption
Professor Yeoman presented four revealing scenarios (collapse, discipline, continuation and transformation) for tourism’s future, from “Robbie the Chef” (complete automation) to “The Day We Ran Out of Chefs” (labour collapse). His technological optimism contrasted with Baum’s caution: “You can’t stop technology advancement … It’s just part of natural progress” (Yeoman and McMahon-Beattie, 2024).
Particularly troubling is Yeoman’s vision of hospitality education shifting from training humans to programming robots. “We no longer need culinary kitchens for humans,” he suggested, instead requiring “software engineers” to replace chefs. This transformation raises critical questions about education systems unprepared for such radical shifts.
The human-AI balance
El Hajal offered a more measured approach through four scenarios of AI integration in talent management (El Hajal and Yeoman, 2024). Industry experts overwhelmingly preferred the “AI-human harmony” scenario where technology enhances rather than replaces human capabilities. However, El Hajal acknowledged AI already disrupting hospitality work, citing Postillion Hotels' replacement of its entire reservations department with AI system MICHIEL.
His findings revealed deep concerns about ethics, privacy invasion, worker autonomy as AI increasingly monitors employee behaviour as well as systems not connecting. The framework for AI Driven Talent Management he proposed combines the AI journey of selecting, hiring and retaining combined with human judgement. This framework however–balancing efficiency with human values – remains aspirational rather than assured.
Unresolved tensions
The panel discussion exposed fundamental disagreements about automation’s consequences. When asked if consumers should pay more for dignified working conditions, Baum agreed but noted this creates another problem: “We’re using economic rationing as a way of ensuring better working conditions … we benefit one side of the equation but challenge the other”.
The question of universal basic income highlighted ideological divides. While Baum supported it in principle, he acknowledged it “applies so strongly against so much of the political narrative … It’s very unlikely to take hold”.
Critical implications
What emerges from this webinar is not technological inevitability but societal choice. Between efficiency driven by automation and human-centred service, the hotel sector finds itself at a crossroads. The basic question now unresolved: How can technology development take place without aggravating inequality or eradicating important work?
As automation accelerates, the industry risks eliminating the very human interactions that once defined hospitality. Without ethical frameworks and policy interventions, market forces alone will continue prioritizing profit over people, creating a hospitality landscape where human service becomes a luxury rather than its essence.
