Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Ulrike Gretzel stands at the forefront of tourism and hospitality technology research, having established herself as a leading authority on artificial intelligence, robotics, and digital innovation in service environments. Her scholarship has fundamentally shaped how both academics and industry practitioners understand the integration of robotic and AI-driven services into travel and hospitality contexts. Gretzel's most influential contributions include a landmark 2019 literature review analyzing 131 publications on robotics in tourism and hospitality, which has garnered nearly 400 citations and serves as an essential reference point for researchers entering the field. Alongside this, her work on anthropomorphism in robot service marketing — exploring how human-like characteristics influence consumer acceptance — has accumulated over 360 citations, demonstrating the field's hunger for conceptual frameworks that bridge technology and human behavior. Her 2017 conceptual paper on the "dawning age of robots," with 286 citations, proved remarkably prescient in challenging educators and researchers to take robotics seriously as a disciplinary concern. Through frameworks like technology sensemaking and technology ideology, Gretzel consistently pushes scholarship beyond mere description toward theoretical sophistication. Her cumulative impact positions her as an indispensable voice in the rapidly evolving conversation around intelligent automation in tourism.