Call Me Old-Fashioned, but Travel & Hospitality Should be Human

In an increasingly robot-run world, travel and tourism have not been immune. The self-check-in hotel is one example. I haven’t encountered this much in Colorado, or nearby states. I am not, after all, living or visiting the cutting-edge parts of the tourism world (and I prefer it this way).

While not frequent, unless it’s a traditional AirBnB, I have encountered one example of self-check-in, and it worked for the property. The “hotel” was a cross between an Airbnb and a real bed and breakfast. It is listed on Airbnb as an “inn.”

For this property, it made sense. It’s a youngish Colorado destination, and while the property is historic it has been entirely remodeled. The target demographic is millennials. I am GenX, and I believe many millennials are more open to this type of check-in. In my experience, Zillennials would prefer not to ever talk to an innkeeper, so self-check-in is ideal.

In 2002, my husband and I stayed in bed and breakfasts across England on our honeymoon. I travel, not to add to my destination list or number of likes on Instagram, but to meet people. There’s no better way to meet people than at a bed and breakfast.

Over the years, we’ve stayed at a handful of bed and breakfasts, meeting people from all over the world. Bed and breakfast owners are mostly a group of extroverts who love chatting with their guests and are a wealth of information on the area. Information you won’t glean online.

Sadly, I have noticed quite a few bed and breakfasts that I have stayed at closed in the last several years. I do not know if it’s the lingering effects of the pandemic or changing travel modes (or a bit of both). I wonder what the survival rate of the bed and breakfasts will be when Zillennials are forty?

Is the Restaurant Experience Dead?

To order from an R2D2 or an electronic pad is my worst nightmare (okay, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch but I hate it). Each time I’ve ordered on a screen from McDonald’s, Panera, and Taco Bell, I have disliked the entire process. I have little doubt that anyone under thirty reading this is yelling “old person” in their head, and that may be true. I turn 48 in a week, and this dog doesn’t want to learn new tricks.

When we eat out, we aren’t just paying for the food we are consuming, we are paying for the experience of eating out.

I recently read an article about server-less restaurants. The article was by food critic Pete Wells. He writes, “It is just the latest in a series of changes that have gradually and steadily stripped the human touch and the human voice out of the restaurant.”

I know the pandemic and ensuing inflation have impacted the restaurant industry, from staffing to food costs, and nothing about it is easy. Plus, our habits changed. People got used to ordering food online during COVID. A lot of people liked it. They realized they didn’t have to cook, didn’t have to leave the house and could eat while watching Netflix.

During the pandemic, I missed the buzz that comes from being at a restaurant or brewery. I’m talking about the literal buzz that human voices create when they are speaking in unison at separate tables. To me, it’s a comforting noise that I crave in my life.

We hardly ever order food because of this; we enjoy the buzz. And yet, that is slowly being removed from our lives, one server at a time.

As we continue to remove the human from human-to-human activities we remove a little part of our humanity. A 21-year-old may believe they are making real connections through Instagram comments or TikTok, but I refuse to believe that is a real connection.

Unless we are face to face with another human, something is missing.

Am I wrong? Feel free to leave a comment.