This study investigates millennial traveller’s behaviour with focus on their awareness of smart technology. The fourth industrial revolution offers multifaceted opportunities to bring radical changes to several industries with the aim to improve economic efficiency. Millennials (1981 – 2000) are the current dominant demographic group who contribute to major segment in hospitality products consumption. They embrace technology and intangible experience as compulsory essentials in their lives. The paper focuses on the correlation between millennials and technology so as to examine their expectations for smart hotel implications.

The theoretical framework presents several works from previous scholars to lay foundation for the empirical research. In the beginning, the current living generations are studied with focus on millennial’s demographics and characteristics. Afterwards, millennial travellers’ general behaviour and technology behaviour are explained in details. The third and fourth chapters study the fourth industrial revolution, Internet of Things to give an overview of their implications, especially for hospitality services, in digital era. The last part reviews the diffusion of innovations theory based on previous experts for deeper comprehension of how smart technology diffuses among millennials.

The empirical research was implemented using quantitative method. Online questionnaire is the research instrument for this research designed on Webrobol platform. The questionnaire was distributed in social media pages and emails. As a result, the amount of eligible responses is 100 received in two consecutive weeks. Data analysis were performed by Webropol and Excel for explicit interpretation.

Key results were analysed in harmonization with literature review to evaluate millennial travellers’ expectations for smart hotels. Millennials enjoy intangible experience over tangible objects as they deem it as a way of escapism. They prefer authenticity, uniqueness when travelling while embracing personalization with value-added packages. Members of this cohort fully engage in mobile devices and social media in every phase of travel experience. They are well aware of Internet of Things as well as smart technology by showing immense demand for their applications in hotel services. Generally, millennials express a positive attitude towards smart technology despite apprehension about privacy issues and less human touch.

Lastly, a conclusion is drawn in correlation to the purpose and objectives of the paper. The key findings are presented in addition to recommendations for hospitality stakeholders and the evaluation of thesis process is described.