Artificial Intelligence in Homestay Tourism: Examining the Role of AI-Enabled Guest Relations in Enhancing Tourist Experience and Loyalty

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly relevant in the tourism and hospitality industry, where it is being used for customer communication, personalized recommendations, automated services, and other forms of technology-enabled support. Existing research has largely examined AI applications in hotels and other organized hospitality settings, while giving comparatively less attention to homestay tourism. This is an important area to explore because homestays differ from conventional accommodation in their emphasis on personal interaction, host–guest relationships, local knowledge, and cultural experiences. This study examines how AI-enabled guest relations shape tourists' experiences and loyalty in homestay tourism. It focuses on practical applications of AI, including personalized communication, responsiveness, recommendations, and assistance before, during, and after a stay. The study proposes tourist experience as a link between AI-enabled guest relations and tourist loyalty, while perceived authenticity and trust in AI are considered as additional factors that may influence tourists' responses to AI-supported services. The study adopts a quantitative research approach and proposes the use of a structured questionnaire to collect data from tourists who have experienced AI-enabled services in homestays. The proposed relationships can be examined using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM).