The “mud and stone” houses are one of the ancient architecture arts that reflect the civilized development of peoples in ancient times and express the evolution of the human need in every time and place ^[1]. There are several heritage houses in Cairo such as El-Razzaz House, Sakna Bek House, Mustafa Jaafar Al-Silahdar House, Al-Shabashiri House, Set wasila House, Elsahami House, and El-Kratliya House ^[2].

According to ^[3], adaptive reuse typically refers to the repurposing of sites or buildings for purposes other than those for which they were originally designed. This new usage may help their environments economically, socially, and culturally. According to ^[4], adaptive reuse is a process that transforms a decommissioned or ineffective object into a new thing that can be used for a different function. Ref. ^[5] provides more context for the definition of adaptive reuse: adaptive reuse is the act of modifying existing structures and places for new uses.

From the above-mentioned definitions, it is concluded that adaptive reuse is a process whereby the historic building is used for purposes other than the original purpose for which it was created in order to preserve its value and achieve economic, social, and cultural benefits. This process should, first and foremost, maintain the material state of the historic building in such a way it will not be changed and, at the same time, dispel concerns about merging heritage houses with its all-historical dimensions in modern life activities.

There are several studies that discussed the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings in tourism and hospitality fields at different countries worldwide. Ref. ^[6], concurred that adaptive reuse of historic buildings to a hotel or a tourism resort can produce a good return to the hotel, destination, shops, businesses, and positively assist the country’s tourism sector. Ref. ^[7] has studied the experiment of the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings in Bangkok as small hotels. They found that this experiment has achieved a lot of benefits towards the preserving of the heritage buildings value in addition to the economic and social benefits achieved to the local community. Another study ^[3] illustrated the importance of reusing historical sites in Algeria as tourist attractions. This study emphasized that the adaptation of historical buildings in the tourism and hospitality field is very important for their survival and sustainability. They have to be incorporated into socioeconomic life and tailored to contemporary demands.

On the other side, ref. ^[8] stated that repurposing old structures for tourist and hospitality purposes has become a significant cultural, historical, and ethnic marker of authentic landscapes in a number of tourism locations. According to ^[9], heritage accommodation has tremendous promise as a sustainable tourism product due to its numerous applications as a means of enhancing human glory, community character, and cultural capital. Ref. ^[10], noted that restored or historic buildings are one of the most frequently requested types of tourist accommodation and are increasingly being included on the map of heritage tourism.

According to ^[11][10], travelers seeking outstanding experiences and simultaneous exposure to history, art, culture, tastes, traditions, and moods from various eras of a country’s history can do so by visiting and staying in heritage hotels. Additionally, they argued that travelers can see displays of excellence in the repurposing of historic houses through the integration of fine detailing in décor, service, and traditional kitchens with contemporary demands for high technology and commercial services. According to ^[12], demand for heritage-based lodging not only encourages spending by individuals seeking to appreciate the historical surroundings, but also provides a backdrop for entertainment, enjoyment, and leisure. Ref. ^[13] noted in this context that when adapted for tourism purposes, heritage buildings can become a valuable and sustainable resource. The legacy buildings that are repurposed for tourism and hospitality attract a large number of foreign and domestic tourists by providing a royal experience and presenting the heritage building’s history and culture ^[14]. Heritage hotels and resorts are historically significant and provide visitors with emotional, aesthetic, and personal value ^[15].

It is concluded from the above-mentioned related studies that tourism and hospitality field is a very suitable field for the adaptive reuse of the heritage buildings. The adaptive reuse of historic buildings to a hotel or a tourism resort can supply good income to the hotel, destination, shops, businesses, and positively support tourists’ experiences.

The concept of ‘memorable tourism and hospitality experience’ (MTHE) was originally presented by ^[16]. They defined it as tourism and hospitality experience which are positively remembered and called to mind after the event has taken place based on the tourist’s evaluation of the experience. According to the MTHE scale created by ^[16], tourism and hospitality experiences have seven significant components that affect a tourist’s memory: “hedonism, novelty, local culture, refreshment, meaningfulness, engagement, and knowledge”. Understanding and facilitating travelers’ happy recollections is viewed as a competitive advantage in modern tourism and hospitality ^[16][17]. In other studies, this influential scope has been employed to quantify tourist and hospitality experiences ^{[18][19][20][21][22][23]}.

Visitor engagement is a highly seminal element of a tourism experience ^[24]. Ref. ^[25] shows how visitors can be engaged in tourism and hospitality services in multiple ways. Several tourism and hospitality research revealed that better visitor involvement improves overall tourist experience and MTHE ^[26][27]. Engagement in cultural places is positively related to enhanced tourism and hospitality memorable experiences ^[26]. MTHE is produced when visitors engage with tourist attractions, according to ^[28].

AR, VR, and holographic technologies have been successfully implemented in several subsectors of the tourism business, where greater visitor engagement is a significant advantage ^[29][30][31]. Ref. ^[32] have looked into the possibility of increasing the use of technology in the tourist and hospitality business in general. AR research in tourism has mainly been conducted for the purposes of experience improvement and engagement, in which actual photographs are accompanied by multimedia to deliver tailored information with a user-friendly interface ^[29][31]. Experiences in heritage sites are being enhanced by VR apps ^[33]. Heritage interpretation for tourism experiences can be provided in a variety of formats, including physical, digital, and documented formats, and can be provided either in-situ (on-site) or ex-situ (off-site), depending on the situation. Tourism experiences based on real knowledge also help visitors learn about heritage ^[34]. Using VR and AR in heritage tourism can help control conflicting memories by re-creating historical customs and myths ^[35].

Conative loyalty is a behavior that occurs when a customer develops cognitive and affective loyalty. It is related to a customer’s commitment to a brand ^[36]. A person who possesses conative loyalty will demonstrate more distinct behavioral intentions, such as recommendation, repurchase intention, information seeking, and positive word of mouth ^[37].

Outstanding hospitality experiences influence the guest’s decision-making processes and ultimately result in the intention to buy ^[16]. Additionally, these good memories have a strong impact on consumers’ intentions to revisit and share favorable word of mouth ^[22]. The findings of ^[38] indicate that guests’ intentions to share WOM are influenced by memorable local cuisine experiences. This is due to the fact that gathering information from an individual’s prior experiences is a very reputable source of information. Thus, it can be concluded that hotels’ utilization of heritage properties following rehabilitation to accommodate their guests provides unforgettable hospitality experiences, which in turn adds to the establishment of conative loyalty to the hotel (which helps attract new customers).