The future is here in the hospitality universe, as AI is rapidly becoming mainstream with hotels and resorts at every price point. Consumers are already reaping the benefits, from efficient booking, virtual room tours and smart rooms built for comfort to customized activity recommendations and robots executing tasks that free up humans to interact with one another. Many hotel and resort management professionals, meanwhile, are getting a handle on their efforts to streamline day-to-day operations.
Although some would argue AI innovation and improvements are beyond the ramp-up phase and have impacted the goings on in front of and in back of the house, there remain concerns about hotels losing their humanity and other things going awry in the operations and management part of the equation.
“There are several solutions on the market aiming to create an AI employee, usually framed as a concierge, that can handle reservations or guest services conversations,” said Rob DelliBovi, founder of RDB Hospitality Group in New York City. “But none of these are considered the ‘future’ just yet. Many hotels are holding off and waiting for the tech to mature. There are also significant concerns around union reactions and the broader implications of machines replacing humans. While this will likely become mainstream in time, adoption is still limited to less than 10 percent of the industry.”
Even with lingering doubts, however, industry studies and providers of AI services are not only positioning themselves to dispel understandable fears but also provide helpful guidance on how hotel and resort management teams can get the best results from AI systems that are being implemented or already in place.
Professionals like Lisa Schwarz, senior director of Global Product Marketing at Oracle NetSuite, and Jason Bryant, vice president of Nor1, Oracle Hospitality, suggest management teams should think strategically when bringing in AI technology so every employee working with and for them can put their best human face forward.
Schwarz puts numbers to AI’s rapid growth in the hospitality marketplace, starting with the market for AI in the hospitality space growing to $90 million in 2023. From there, it is predicted to increase at a rate of 60 percent each year until topping $8 billion in 2033. She credits the acceptance of AI to the fact that, rather than there being a single program, platform or system, it is embedded into technology spread across the entire hotel business, from the front desk to the back office.
“Technology should never replace personality,” said Luca Zambello, CEO of Jurny, a Los Angeles-based hospitality and vacation property management company that distinguishes itself through the AI technology built into its app to maintain human contact between management and guests. “It should protect or even perfect it. The more we automate repetitive tasks, the more time staff have to do what they’re best at: Being human. That means being present, saying hello, noticing when someone looks lost or offering a great local recommendation without feeling rushed. Where voice and vibe matter, automation has to amplify identity ... not flatten it.”
Well-informed staff are also an important part of the equation. Chris McPherson, CTO at TakeUp, an AI-powered revenue management platform designed for the hospitality industry, said there is a caveat—having an AI-implemented system in place isn’t the same as using it correctly and strategically.
“Many properties adopt AI, but then treat it like a plug-and-play tool and move on,” McPherson said. “The hotels that stay ahead are the ones that treat AI like a strategic partner—constantly tuning how they use it, learning from the outputs and letting it evolve alongside their business. AI works best when (hotel management) partners with an AI strategist who understands the context and goals behind the numbers—someone who can translate the signals into business decisions. Equipping staff to interpret, challenge and apply AI outputs fosters trust and makes the technology far more effective.”
Switching On?
Zambello remembers a time when “personalization” meant remembering a name or offering a room upgrade. He believes AI has helped shift things to understanding context or why the guest is here. Are they a repeat guest who always travels solo? A family celebrating something special? These small cues let hotels go from serving people to knowing them.
“The best part is you don’t need to train a concierge to memorize every guest profile, he said. “The system does the heavy lifting and the staff gets to focus on what matters: Connection. That’s when a stay starts to feel less like a hotel visit and more like a return to somewhere familiar. The best hospitality doesn’t wait for a complaint or request. It steps in before the guest even realizes they need something.”
By now, many consumers know that AI is powering virtual assistants, housekeeping scheduling and real-time translation. Behind the front desk, it helps management make dynamic pricing decisions and keep tabs on an expansive inventory of supplies. Although AI is right at home at hotels and resorts across different categories, Schwarz points to “household names” in hospitality setting the standards for other companies.
Universal Orlando Resort uses facial recognition to validate identity at park entrances and enable contactless entry processes. The Radisson Hotel Group is experimenting with AI to enhance its sales to event planners with an immersive “infinity room” that helps them visualize event spaces in real time. Marriott Bonvoy uses AI-powered searches to personalize and streamline natural language searches across 140,000 luxury home rental properties served through its “Homes & Villas” segment.
Bryant said that resorts and hotels can stay ahead by staying on top of the trends while strategically embedding AI into their operations. The fact that AI is built into several different programs and systems makes implementation even easier. He breaks the general technology down into “generative” and “predictive” categories that have specific and quantifiable value for the hospitality industry.
Generative AI enables systems and programs to create content and can be used with natural language processing to answer questions using hotel or brand-specific content and generate rate code descriptions for distribution channels. Predictive AI in mission-critical systems, like the Property Management System (PMS), can help automate various processes, including forecasting, inventory management and guest service tasks.
“Predictive AI has transformed the hospitality industry by enabling highly personalized guest experiences and optimizing staff scheduling and forecasting demand,” Bryant said. “With its powerful abilities to analyze and recommend actions, it is used in merchandising of rooms, amenities and on-site service. It can streamline operations, enable the reduction of manual errors and allow staff to focus on delivering exceptional guest experiences. A great example is intelligent, relevant responses to in-application ‘how-do-I’ questions that are context-aware and use hotel or brand-specific content to create precise answers with citations. This speeds up task execution and helps staff keep the focus on the guest.”
Even with a lot of quantifiable promises, however, some hotel company decision makers are taking a “wait and see” tactic before making a full leap. DelliBovi believes it may be wise to proceed with caution. Even if some AI solutions are catching on, from his perspective, nothing has yet proven to be both mainstream and truly impactful. He projects that most industry timelines he has looked at are about three to five years out from that shift. He also sees AI as one of the “rare tech shifts” where end users adopt the tools before businesses do. Some team members may already have a handle on it themselves, which is almost unheard of in traditional tech adoption cycles.
“We’re still in the ‘hospitality AI 1.0’ phase and many offerings feel gimmicky or half-baked and hotels remain understandably cautious,” he said. “It’s often being pitched by some of the same people chasing the next big thing (such as) the metaverse, crypto solutions and pickleball courts. Right now, we’re in a ‘wait and see’ moment. Given the general lack of understanding around AI, we’re recommending that hotels start with consultants to tread carefully. Once AI becomes smarter and more aligned with our needs, it will be the technology to invest in.”
On the other hand, Max Spangler, vice president of Technology at Charlestowne Hotels in Mt. Pleasant, SC, finds Voice AI technology is hitting its stride. He said it has opened the door for more customized interactions between Charlestowne Hotels’ management and sales personnel and the customer. This is thanks to the technology’s evolution from clunky IVRs and scripted bots to smoother, more human-sounding modes of communication. “We’re now seeing systems that can genuinely hold a conversation, through transcribing, understanding and replying to guest questions with speed and a surprising amount of nuance,” he said. “We’re keeping a close eye on this space, especially as the tech gets fast enough to start replacing traditional call centers in some areas.”
When systems like these are connected to a hotel’s PMS or CRM, Spangler stresses they can personalize the conversation by pulling up loyalty info or recognizing a returning guest. Tools such as Whisper (via faster-whisper or CTranslate2) for transcription, Mistral and Qwen-4B for natural language processing and Coqui XTTSv2 or Kokoro for voice output deliver full-voice interactions with round-trip latencies around 500 milliseconds.
“That’s quick enough to keep a conversation feeling natural, (and) similar to what you’d expect on a regular phone call,” he said. “But speed alone isn’t what makes this exciting. It’s how these systems are starting to listen like humans. They can tell the difference between a thoughtful pause and someone who’s finished talking. Some open-source setups, like RealtimeVoiceChat, combine live transcription with lightweight classifiers to decide when to respond, avoiding those clunky moments where the AI either interrupts or leaves too much dead air. We’ve also seen models that throw in subtle cues, like ‘mm-hmm’ or ‘right,’ to make the interaction feel more personal and attentive.”
Bryant sees service providers like his helping hospitality clients get through the early glitches by working toward creating greater consistency and coherence with booking across channels. He concedes that even if AI works well on a hotel website, guests may still experience friction on third-party booking sites, mobile apps or when checking in on arrival at the destination. While most AI-driven booking tools currently rely on basic data (past stays, preferences, etc.), he sees the eventual arrival of better real-time data and LLMs making the guest experience feel much more tailored.
He also argues that unifying the AI experience across all touchpoints will help eliminate confusion and deliver a smoother guest journey and expanding natural language support and cultural nuances (e.g., payment methods, formality of communication) will boost trust and ease for international guests. Oracle Guest Engagement and Merchandising, for example, uses machine learning to suggest tailored room upgrades or amenities based on a guest’s reservation data and merchandising history, allowing hotels to offer customized services and gain a competitive advantage.
“Beyond guest engagement, AI’s impact extends to various operational areas,” he said. “Room assignments can be tailored per unique guest, AI-driven insights can assist housekeeping in anticipating guest needs and managing room turnover, while call center agents can provide prescriptive and efficient booking experiences. By leveraging AI across these touchpoints, hotels create a seamless, customized journey, fostering stronger guest relationships. This level of personalization not only delights guests but also improves operational efficiency, positioning AI as a crucial tool for hotels to stay ahead in a competitive market.”
Power to the (Employee) People
Bryant says that if embedding AI into existing software and applications is done right, it should have almost no impact on live employees … and in some cases, improve the quality of workplace life and make it easier to maintain their regular workflows while benefiting from intelligent automation. AI can simplify tedious data entry tasks, allowing employees to dedicate more time to specialized and engaging work. However, he also points out that accomplishing this in the hospitality workplace requires a considerate strategy, especially when dealing with employees who may be less tech-savvy or resistant to change. During any transition phase, the goal should be to demonstrate how AI can simplify their daily tasks and improve overall efficiency.
“This approach ensures that AI complements their skills rather than replaces them, making the technology more approachable and the employee more productive,” he said. “User-friendly interfaces, guided assistance and intuitive workflows can make jobs more manageable and efficient, meaning staff spend less time on training and troubleshooting, thus enhancing overall job satisfaction.”
Bryant says Oracle’s AI-generated insights and analytics provide valuable decision-making support, enabling employees to make informed choices and contribute to the hotel’s success. With AI integrated into operational applications, they can be easier and more intuitive to use, regardless of the hotel market segment. Algorithms shift hotel teams from being reactive to proactive, enabling a more strategic and guest-focused approach to service and sales. They help management prioritize tasks, flag exceptions and automate routine administrative work. This means staff can prepare customized experiences, flag high-value guests for VIP treatment or anticipate the special needs of diverse guests.
“This frees up staff to focus on higher-touch, relationship-driven activities,” he said. “Post-stay, algorithms analyze guest feedback and sentiment to identify trends, detect dissatisfaction and trigger follow-up actions like service recovery or personalized marketing. When done right, AI can improve the employee experience and make it easier for employees to provide the best possible guest experience.”
Zambello shares that point of view, stressing that tech adoption isn’t about age or background. Instead, it’s about making teams feel supported instead of sidelined. “If a system looks complicated or feels like it’s replacing someone’s job, (staff will) resist it and that’s completely understandable,” he said. “When staff realize the technology is there to make their day more manageable, everything shifts. It should extend people’s strengths, not override them. Our platform, which includes a next-gen agentic AI, NIA, is built to respect people’s instincts while enhancing their workflow.”
Rather than overexplain AI’s benefits and risk losing that personal connection with guests, Jurny’s team encourages its hospitality clients, through the management and staff, to keep the messaging simple. Guests are results-oriented rather than process-oriented and don’t want to spend time interpreting tech jargon or the nuts and bolts of the latest innovation. Since hospitality is rooted in emotions, it is more essential to communicate trust, ease and comfort and lead the conversation with guests about meeting their needs.
“The hotels that win long-term (will) be the ones that make everything work together,” said Zambello. “A guest doesn’t care if you have five apps and three dashboards behind the scenes. They care that the front desk knows what housekeeping knows and that their preferences follow them not just between rooms, but across stays. That’s the future we’re building. It’s not about chasing trends, but about designing systems that disappear into the background so care, comfort and consistency can take center stage.”
McPherson, meanwhile, stresses that AI is a game-changer for independent hotel clients in helping them reconcile costs, revenue and pricing. TakeUp lightens the load for hotel teams as they don’t have the advantage of a large back office and their GMs are also the revenue managers. With AI handling the heavy lifting—like demand forecasting, competitor analysis and pace tracking—teams can focus more on delivering great guest experiences.
“It’s not just about automating pricing—it’s about giving teams an edge they didn’t have before,” he said. “By using AI to respond to real-time demand and market trends, our clients are consistently capturing more revenue without having to constantly second-guess themselves or chase down data. We’ve seen properties increase revenue by letting the system do what it does best: process huge amounts of information fast and turn it into smart, actionable pricing decisions. That shift not only improves performance, it makes the day-to-day more manageable and rewarding.”
AI By the Numbers
The “Hotel Guest Technology Report 2025” study conducted by Hotel Tech Report (www.research.hoteltechreport.com) in August 2024 reflects that consumer acceptance is gaining traction. Responses from 400 guests surveyed revealed insightful data around their perceptions of tech and AI’s pros and cons:
- 70 percent of guests find chatbots helpful for simple inquiries, but prefer human interaction for more complex requests
- 65 percent of travelers want the tech in their hotel to be more advanced than the tech in their homes.
- 58 percent of guests feel that AI-driven platforms can effectively anticipate their needs and provide personalized recommendations.
- 39 percent of guests would ask a chatbot to access the hotel’s WiFi and passwords. Easy access to essential information via tech features like this is becoming a standard expectation.
- Millennials are 57 percent more likely to be influenced by hotel technology and expect features like mobile check-ins and personalized in-app experiences, making them a crucial demographic for hotels to engage.
This article was originally published in the June edition of Hotel Management magazine. Subscribe here.