There is a growing body of knowledge focusing on the influence that artificial intelligence (AI) is having on the hospitality industry. What the evidence suggests is that for hospitality businesses, the impact of AI to date has been very positive. Hospitality marketers, for example, are using AI powered systems to analyze vast amounts of customer data, such as booking history, preferences, and online behavior. This information is then used to create personalized recommendations for destinations, accommodation, activities and more.
AI systems can also customize marketing campaigns, improving consumer engagement and conversion rates. Additionally, AI can help hospitality companies optimize their pricing strategies based on factors such as demand trends, competitor pricing and historical data.
Human resource management professionals in the hospitality industry are also leveraging AI to automate repetitive tasks such as screening resumes, scheduling interviews, and conducting background checks. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are being used to interact with job applicants and provide personalized assistance and information about open positions and the application process. This all saves time and resources for HR employees, allowing them to focus on more strategic activities such as building relationships with key clients and providing individualized service to guests.
Perhaps the most visible application of AI in the hospitality sector for customers is the deployment of chatbots and virtual concierges. AI-driven conversational agents are interacting with guests in real-time, addressing their queries, providing recommendations, and even handling routine tasks such as check-in and check-out procedures. By automating these processes, hotels can streamline operations, reduce labor costs, and offer around-the-clock support to guests, improving overall efficiency and convenience.
For example, Radisson Blu Edwardian hotels use a chatbot named “Edward” that can instantly address guest complaints or issues through text messages. If a guest needs more towels or has a problem with their room, Edward handles it right away, often negating the need for the guest to call the front desk. This quick resolution has led to higher guest satisfaction.
Robots are another visible application of AI in the hospitality sector. Robotic technology was already rapidly gaining popularity within the industry before COVID-19, and hotels have been utilizing service robots for over a decade to check-in guests, clean facilities, and deliver food to rooms, but now restaurants are also using robots to ease labor shortages and improve service. Restaurants like Wing Factory, Spyce, Chipotle, Wendy’s, and sweetgreen are using robotic servers and cooks to make burgers, fry tortilla chips, and deliver food to customers. Companies such as Uber Eats are currently experimenting with delivery robots and drones.
Entertainment venues, like the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas, are also employing robots to enhance the guest experience. Five Aura robots are located at the venue’s grand atrium, greeting guests as they enter, providing lost guests with directions within the venue and offering details on each day’s performances as well as answering questions about the Sphere’s engineering, technology and creative mission. Aura will use artificial intelligence to advance as she learns more about humans through guest interactions (note that Aura is a ‘she’).
AI is also impacting the sommelier profession, with wine recommendation software now available that uses AI to analyze a guest’s wine preferences and make personalized recommendations. Hypertaste, an ‘artificial tongue’ launched by IBM, is an example. Sofia Carta, Sommelier at Forte Village in Sardinia believes this type of technology will help, not replace sommeliers. Artificial intelligence can assist, but there must be a great professional behind it she says. Matteo Zappile, head sommelier at Pagliaccio in Rome agrees. Anything artificial only counts to a certain extent. It may work for calculating algorithms, what we like or dislike, but tasting is all about emotions that a machine cannot experience. The problem is that these emotions are subjective, depending on time and place. This is where I see the limits of technology.
Finally, the implementation of AI has led to the emergence in recent years of intelligent or smart servicescapes in hospitality settings. A simple example would be the smart hotel room, a network of interconnected devices and systems that provide every guest with a personalized and smooth experience. Various elements like lighting, heating, and entertainment systems can be controlled remotely, often through a guest’s smartphone or voice commands. Smart rooms represent the intersection of convenience, comfort, and cutting-edge technology.
But they are not just about enhancing guest satisfaction – they also help improve a hotel’s operational efficiency and financial stability. For example, using sensors and intelligent systems, smart rooms can adjust lighting, heating, and air conditioning based on occupancy and preferences. This not only reduces energy consumption but also lowers utility bills considerably.
But what do consumers think about the use of all this AI technology in hospitality? The research seems to suggest that customers – whether hotel guests or restaurant patrons – are open to the use of AI. In fact, a 2024 study of customer service from Intercom concluded that: Customers know how AI can improve their service experience – making it faster and more efficient – they’re unwilling to wait around for anything less.
Intercom surveyed more than 2,000 customer service professionals across a range of locations, roles, and company sizes to find out how AI was influencing customer service. In just 12 months, generative AI went from being an emerging possibility to a stop-you-in-your-tracks, drop-everything phenomenon. It’s transforming the customer service landscape at lightning speed, they said.
For those travelers who use it, AI plays a significant role in trip planning. A recent report on the future of travel by Deloitte suggests that about 16% of travelers use AI to plan their holiday trips, which sounds small until you consider the technology has only been widely available for a year or two. Excluding boomers, whose adoption remains in the mid-single digits, usage is over 20%. Deloitte predict that AI will become deeply integrated into travel search and booking platforms, meeting consumer desires for personalization, convenience and speed.
The same report, however, concluded that while automation has the potential to save travelers time or enable more fun and comfort, most still expect the human touch along their journeys. This is not to suggest that travel suppliers should not invest in automation. They should proceed gradually and thoughtfully, realizing that front-line workers play a key role in the travel experience.
New technology often appeals to consumers because of the novelty factor. The robot bartenders on seven of Royal Caribbean’s cruise ships are an example. Mixing up to 1,000 drinks a day, these “bionic bars” have been successful partly because they are an attraction as well as a service. Alessandro Incisa, project manager for Makr Shakr who created the robots says: You always have this kind of magical experience when the guest arrives and says, ‘Oh, look at that, there’s a robot on the counter—and it makes drinks!’ Makr Shakr are also aware that consumers like to interact with service robots that have human-like attributes, so they collaborated with famous dancer Marco Pelle, a principal dancer at the New York Theatre Ballet, by mapping his movements with a computer, then simulating them so that the robots make human-like movements.
As suggested above, service robots that can be given human attributes – including emotional qualities – are more likely to satisfy customers, according to research. In fact, one study found that a more human-like robot was more satisfying to customers only if perceived as female, consistent with stereotypical expectations for interpersonally-oriented traits. More important than designing robots to look human is for customers to perceive them as emotional beings, according to research conducted at the Henn na Hotel in Sasebo, Japan, known as the world’s first robot-staffed hotel. The study found that guests were more satisfied with their stay when they perceived the robots as having emotions, highlighting the importance of designing service robots that can express or simulate emotional behaviors to enhance customer satisfaction.
But consumers do have concerns about the adoption of AI. In a recent global survey of consumers by research specialists Qualtrics, nearly half of those sampled were highly concerned about the lack of a human being to connect with if companies choose to use AI to automate their interactions with customers. They are also apprehensive about the poor quality of interactions and worried about the loss of jobs for employees, with 45% of respondents citing each as a concern. About the same percentage of global consumers are also concerned about misuse of their personal data if companies automate interactions with customers.
What this all shows to me is that yes, organizations that don’t adopt AI may struggle to keep up with customer’s rising expectations. But they should utilize a combination of artificial and human intelligence to effectively compete on customer experience. Successful companies all have one thing in common: they prioritize the human touch. These companies – like Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, the Pestana Hotel Group, Martinhal, the Ivy Collection, Soho House, Royal Caribbean, Disney, the Lopesan Group and Taj Hotels – all understand the significance of the ‘moment of truth’, the moment when the customer interacts with the organization and the service is produced and consumed.
These organizations therefore invest heavily in recruiting and training staff to ensure these moments result in a high-quality experience for all their guests. So although AI is going to be increasingly important in our industry, hospitality professionals should not lose sight of the importance of face-to-face human interactions.
Reprinted from the Hotel Business Review with permission from www.HotelExecutive.com.
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