By Amy Colbourn
The million-dollar question is: how will the hospitality industry continue to evolve and grow with the application of emerging technologies? To help answer this, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: artificial intelligence. With such a broad term and admittedly today’s buzzword, let’s start by answering, “What is AI?”
Simply stated, AI refers to the development of computer systems and software that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. These tasks include learning, sourcing information, problem solving, understanding natural language, recognizing patterns, and even making decisions or providing a new idea or perspective. What is not always clear is the accuracy or sources of information.
As AI becomes part of business practice for the hospitality industry, it has big potential to impact the bottom line. A recent report from Accenture (AI in the Hospitality Industry: Here’s What You Need to Know) estimated that AI could potentially double annual economic growth rates by 2035. This has been validated by a study by PwC estimating that AI could add $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030.
Hoteliers who do not educate themselves about AI risk falling behind. They will need to figure out how to implement AI in all of the right ways because when it comes to hospitality—and especially luxury hospitality—human interaction is a big deal. The guest experience comes down to a careful balance between technology and the personal touch. Too much or too little can have a negative impact on the guest experience.
What matters in hospitality is the people. I read a great statement from a guy named Bob Proctor, author of “Change Your Paradigm, Change Your Life.” He wrote, “When you take people out of the hotel, you don’t have a hotel anymore; you have a building full of stuff. The hotel is people. If we want to build a business, we’ve got to build the people.”
Along these lines, we have to explore how AI can optimize the human experience in hospitality. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of keeping the human touch as that’s what differentiates luxury from standard service.
Here are ways to leverage AI to optimize the guest experience:
Personalizing recommendations to meet guest preferences
AI can be used to sort through captured data and analyze it to gain insights into guests preferences, behavior patterns and trends. Armed with this wealth of information, hotels can offer highly personalized recommendations and services to their guests.
Enhancing interactions, avoiding corner cutting
This means offering shortcuts where it makes the most sense, not just because it can be done. Not all elements of a hotel are meant to be automated. It is essential that hotels ask guests for feedback about what’s working, what’s not working and what they can do better. And then they should make changes based on the feedback. After all, the guest knows best.
Hotel Tech Report recently surveyed 400 hotel guests for their annual State of Hotel Guest Technology Report 2024. Some of the data points they uncovered include:
- 70% of guests find chatbots helpful for simple inquiries but prefer human interaction for more complex requests
- The number one reason guests prefer a chatbot at a hotel is when asking for the WiFi password, followed by number two, scheduling wake-up calls and number 3, checking hotel facility operating hours
- 58% of guests feel that AI improves their hotel booking and stay experiences.
- 65% of travelers want the tech in their hotel to be cooler than the tech in their homes
According to Deloitte’s latest European Hospitality Industry Conference survey, 52% of customers believe generative AI will be used for customer interactions, and 44% stated that generative AI will be employed for guest engagement. With this level of belief in AI’s inevitable incorporation in hospitality, it’s important to do it right.
Staying on-brand
In luxury hotels, AI should be used to enhance, not replace, human interaction; therefore enriching guest experiences while retaining a personal touch. Hotels will need to figure out how and when to use AI in a fashion that allows the experience to remain “on-brand.” For most luxury brands, how you deliver service is very much a part of the brand delivery and must be consistent with the guest’s expectation to maintain high levels of satisfaction, enhance loyalty and impact potential for return visits. The risk to brand reputation is significant if hotels fail to align AI with their customers’ unique needs across different segments and locations.
Efficiency and luxury don’t really go together
If you were to ask a luxury guest about the virtues of efficiency, this notion is not likely to rank high on their wish list. Luxury consumers want the experience to be exceptional, not necessarily efficient. What this means is that hoteliers can use AI to create efficiencies on the back end that lead to exceptional service on the front end. One way to do this is to analyze the data to provide better, more personalized experiences. From curated offers to in-room preferences.
As the hospitality industry continues to evolve, so will its view on AI along with other emerging technologies. One thing we can agree on is that nothing beats a seamless guest experience—and every guest wants to come away feeling better than they did when they arrived. Our point of view is to make sure you strike the right balance to make the interaction better, not replace it or take away from the engagement between people. After all, like Bob Proctor so eloquently stated, “The hotel is people.”
Amy Colbourn is managing director of MONOGRAM. Her advertising career started more than 25 years ago. She has held senior agency leadership roles at the largest and most influential advertising agencies in the Northeastern U.S., representing some of the world’s best casino, hotel and resort properties.
This is a contributed piece to Hotel Business, authored by an industry professional. The thoughts expressed are the perspective of the bylined individual.
