Abstract
Purpose This study aims to map and analyzes the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) research in the hospitality industry, offering a comprehensive overview of influential works, thematic clusters and future research needs. Design/methodology/approach A bibliometric review of 3,086 English-language publications retrieved from Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus was undertaken. VOSviewer was used to conduct citation, co-citation and keyword co-occurrence analyses, enabling identification of leading authors, journals, collaboration networks and emergent themes. Findings The analysis identified four primary research themes synthesized from the co-citation and keyword co-occurrence clusters: AI-powered automation and robotics, sentiment analysis and opinion mining, generative AI and conversational agents and AI-powered smart hospitality and Internet of Things (IoT) integration. The paper develops a theme-based research roadmap that links the identified clusters to future research questions on ethical governance, human-AI collaboration, employee AI literacy, sustainability, multimodal sentiment analysis, automation and robotics, cross-cultural algorithmic adaptability and explainable AI. Research limitations/implications The review is limited to two databases and English-language sources; conference abstracts and gray literature were excluded. Future studies could include additional databases, longitudinal qualitative assessments and cross-language comparisons to enhance understanding. Practical implications Managers can use the thematic map and roadmap to prioritize investments in AI-driven automation, data analytics capabilities and staff upskilling while addressing ethical, cultural and sustainability considerations. Originality/value This study focused exclusively on AI within hospitality and, based on 3,086 publications from Scopus and Web of Science, provides one of the most comprehensive hospitality-specific mappings of AI. The study develops an evidence-based thematic framework and research roadmap that complements existing reviews across hospitality and tourism.