Before check-in desks got replaced by kiosks, before room service came from an automated cart, and before AI started writing guest reviews and chat replies, hospitality was human. In many ways, it still is. But as automation races ahead, especially in global tourism, one urgent question keeps surfacing:
When machines do the work, who’s paying the people?
For the Caribbean, where tourism is both lifeline and legacy, the stakes are even higher. The region has long been a destination of sun, sea, and service, yet much of the revenue it generates doesn’t stay on the islands. Airlines, foreign-owned hotel chains, imported food and goods, even the software that manages bookings, all siphon earnings away from local economies.
And the workforce? Often held in place by short-term contracts, housekeepers and hospitality workers live in a cycle of uncertainty. Their jobs, by design, are temporary three-month renewals that don’t qualify them for loans, mortgages, or long-term planning. It’s hard to build a life when your livelihood can expire each quarter.
Enter automation.
Now imagine a resort where housekeeping is handled by cleaning robots. Where digital concierges manage guest requests. Where AI powers the bookings and analytics. Fewer people. Lower costs. Higher margins.
Great for the bottom line. Catastrophic for communities.
So, we ask again: Who pays the automation bill?
What is a Robot Tax and Why Does It Matter?
The concept is simple: if a company replaces a human worker with a machine or AI, it pays a tax equivalent to the income taxes and social contributions that the worker would have provided. That tax can then fund public services, retraining programmes, or ideally, universal basic income (UBI)*.
But here’s the catch in the Caribbean context:
Many of the companies operating in the region are foreign-owned and legally shielded by layers of shell entities.
Their tax obligations are often negotiated down or obscured entirely.
Local governments, eager to attract investment, often don’t have the leverage or legislative tools to enforce fair taxation.
In other words, the robots might be taxed in theory but in practice, the bill never arrives.
A Bigger Problem: What Happens When Tourists Are Replaced Too?
Let’s zoom out. It’s not just about hospitality workers being replaced. It’s also about the guests.
AI and automation are predicted to significantly impact mid- and low-level roles such as customer service representatives, administrative assistants, retail workers, travel agents, and transport/logistics drivers. Jobs which are not only numerous, but often fund the travel budgets for millions of working- and middle-class families.
According to McKinsey Global Institute and the World Economic Forum, up to 800 million global jobs could be lost to automation by 2030, with clerical and support functions among the most at risk. These are the people who book discounted Caribbean cruises, travel during off-peak seasons, and spend consciously but consistently across local attractions, transport, and small guesthouses.
If people in North America and Europe are losing jobs to automation. If AI is writing the reports, doing the design, driving the trucks, how do they earn the money to book that Caribbean cruise? To fly in, dine out, tip generously?
No income. No travel. No tourism.
Automation without a system of redistribution doesn’t just harm the workers who are displaced, it also undercuts demand entirely. A robot doesn’t go on holiday. It doesn’t sip cocktails by the beach. It doesn’t pose in front of murals for the ‘gram.
So, if the tourism sector continues automating without reinvesting, it’s not just communities who lose, it’s the whole economy.
So, What’s the Way Forward?
To future-proof tourism in the Caribbean and around the world we must think differently:
Regional Robot Tax Legislation Carve out regional agreements to tax automation usage regardless of where a company is registered. If you’re using robots in the Caribbean, you pay into a Caribbean Future Fund.
Tourism Equity Funds Require multinationals to invest in local business development as part of their operating licence. If tech is replacing workers, capital must grow new roles and ventures.
Transparency Mandates Force companies to disclose ownership structures and labour automation plans. You can’t tax what you can’t trace.
Reinvest in the Human Touch Automate the boring, not the beautiful. Position the Caribbean as the ultimate high-touch, high-heart destination. Let the robots process payments and let people deliver magic.
Final Thought: Automation Isn’t the Enemy But Extraction Is
Technology has always been a tool. It’s who wields it and who benefits that matters.
A robot tax isn’t about resisting progress. It’s about demanding accountability in a system where profit often floats offshore, while people onshore are left to struggle. If we want a sustainable, equitable tourism industry, then we have to make sure that when the robots check in the people don’t get checked out.
*We will discuss UBI in a future post.
