10 Data-Backed Ways AI is Revolutionizing Hotels: Boost Revenue, Enhance Guest Experience, and Streamline Operations By Are Morch

In fact, as progress continues, tourism could be a world leader for cutting-edge technology and advanced AI. “Wth our solution travellers are able to book both rooms and airline tickets from a hotel’s official website. This not only makes it easier for travellers to make reservations, it also lets hotels improve their service offering and reduce channel cost against OTAs. Yuzo Takamatsu, president CEO of Time Design, said previously travellers were only able to book hotels and airline tickets at the same time through a travel agent or Online Travel Agency (OTA). Toby completes an up-to-the-minute flight availability search based on the information you provide such as flight origin and destination, dates, number of passengers and deliver the most suitable flight options to you. Select the flight, and you are transferred to Tigerair’s online booking engine to complete the booking.

Booking.com started off in a different way, where they took no money upfront; you paid, for example, at the hotel, and then Booking.com got paid a commission after you left. Now, of course, we want to try and do things where we can actually get some synergies. Procurement is done across the entire organization, but of course, there can be different needs. So, you want to try and get volume scale benefits, but in the end, there are times you say, look, we’re not going to try and do this one-size-fits-all because they’re different needs, and that comes on a case-by-case basis.

HelloGBye claims that users can type, or vocally describe, complex travel requests involving one or more people into its messenger app and receive a chatbot response with a detailed flight and hotel itinerary in under 30 seconds. SnapTravel is a bot and hotel booking service that can be accessed to users through Facebook Messenger or SMS with no app download requirements. The bot is marketed to users looking to book cheap hotel deals, which the company receives from its roster of hotel partners, according to its FAQ. Users can respond to Mezi by giving answers with multiple details. Mezi will then search the web and respond with links to hotels that match the user’s preferences.

They say, “Wait a minute, you mean OpenTable, Priceline, Kayak, altogether, and then, the other ones are about 10 percent? ” And [I]say, “Yeah.” But it is a very big company, so even companies like Priceline, Kayak, and OpenTable are very ChatGPT big companies, too. It can be confusing, especially depending on where you live. If you live in the US, you may know, I hope you know Booking.com, but you may know Kayak better, or you may know OpenTable, or you may know Priceline.

This will mean that there shouldn’t be a massive difference between your experience in a five-star hotel and a two-star hotel. There will be a reliable consistency that will allow you to get the most out of your stay, whatever your reason for being there. A common mistake I see is starting from the solution and looking for a problem. Good engineering always begins with understanding the problem.

What GPT Stands For and What Is ChatGPT?

In the $130 billion market capitalization, these are enormous numbers for most companies, but it’s compared to the scale of the opportunity because travel is so big. As CEO of Booking.com, as CEO of the group, I always want to be careful and make sure what I’m doing is best for the entire organization, not just good for Booking.com. When we do things that may appear to be duplicative, you want to say, well, what is the cost of standardization? How much are you going to slow things down while you’re putting everything together onto just one platform? On the other hand, though, as I mentioned earlier, about driving things down to the lowest levels of the organization, letting people just run hard with what they are doing, it gives it, I think, a benefit overall.

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the hospitality sector is reshaping how hotels operate, enhancing guest experiences, improving operational efficiencies, and even bolstering their sustainability efforts. From smart room technology to AI-powered concierge services, the industry is witnessing a transformative shift. Imagine a world where AI-powered virtual assistants handle hotel bookings and curate personalized experiences for guests. Or where LLMs seamlessly bridge linguistic divides, offering instant translations for travelers. AI’s prowess in forecasting flight patterns and streamlining itineraries dovetails with LLMs’ capability to help tourism agencies craft content that resonates across cultures. Together, they promise not just enhanced experiences for travelers but also streamlined operations for businesses in the travel sector.

Marriott’s AI Chatbots

Almosafer is testing a voice search function powered by ChatGPT and will enable customers to search for the best flight options in both English and Arabic by simply recording their flight search requests. “The testing of ChatGPT reflects our commitment to constantly enhance our digital platforms and maintain our position at the forefront of technology,” said Muzzammil Ahussain, CEO of Almosafer. Through ChatGPT, Khalid, Almosafer’s virtual travel advisor, will be empowered to become a more holistic travel consultant with the necessary knowledge and expertise. In today’s fast-paced world, AI has emerged as a game-changer for hotels, optimizing everything from guest services to operations while amplifying the most critical element of hospitality—the human touch.

Our home business is approximately two-thirds the size of Airbnbs, and that’s just our home business. Now, what a lot of people also don’t know is that we’ve been growing very rapidly in that area and expanding. You can foun additiona information about ai customer service and artificial intelligence and NLP. The reason they don’t know is because in the US, we’re not as big in the homes area as we are in other parts of the world.

Edwardian Hotels London employs the aptly-named virtual host Edward who can take amenities requests, give directory and review information, facilitate complaints and connect guests to an immediate call-back if they need human assistance. No more than 15 years ago we were watching sci-fi films that boggled the mind and tested the limits ChatGPT App of our imagination. Facial recognition technology, fingerprint biometrics, intelligent phones and computers that talked to people, functional artificial intelligence; all of this seemed worlds away. “Honestly, the travel industry as a whole has a lot of legacy technology, and it’s not super easy to move in and adopt some of this.

If somebody doesn’t want to work with us, that’s a perfectly reasonable thing. But if I can provide incremental value to them, they will generally want to do business with us. And yes, really what I want to do more of — and we’ve done some, but I want to do even more — is the cross-fertilization of people, having people move from one of the companies to the other ones.

He’s also worked on IOS teams at Flipboard, a personalized news application that recommends news stories and publications based on user preferences, and MapQuest. The service continues to be powered by humans, without the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Although the check-in desk is still the preferred option for many looking to find information, guests increasingly look to digital solutions, including AI and in-hotel chatbots, for answers to typical questions. Automated hotel services take the pressure off hotel staff while increasing upselling opportunities. After all, the easier it is for guests to check-in, order room service, and book tables in the restaurant, the more likely they are to use the service throughout their stay.

DTWS: How far have chatbots come and how far do they have to go?

This ongoing process ensures that AI tools and systems remain relevant as guest expectations evolve and new technologies emerge. Regular evaluation helps identify areas for improvement, whether in the AI applications themselves or in how staff interact with the technology. Additionally, this stage encourages innovation by highlighting opportunities to expand AI use into new areas of hotel operations. BEBOT is on the leading edge among the increasingly popular hotel chatbots. It is neither a human-only or purely text-messaging app, and does not require constant human support.

This necessitates that our technology be extremely flexible, capable of adjusting behaviors and supporting a wide range of options across the entire stack. This represents one of our greatest challenges but also what sets us apart in the global competitive landscape. We have a variety of internal tools, from knowledge-assisted assistants to Al automations for surveying, and Al applications in security, fraud prevention, legal, finance, marketing and more. At present, 62% of our company continuously uses Al, with over 100 use cases in production. It’s easy to assume that everything can be done with a chatbot, but it’s not that simple. Successful customer interfaces are ones that clearly present the information needed and provide the functions required with minimal effort.

Automation, cloud storage and AI will streamline services while brands experiment with different FOH options. AI allows you to personalize every aspect of a guest’s stay. You can offer unique amenities and services that will appeal to their wants and needs, make informed suggestions from the travel/concierge desk, and so much more. It’s all about creating a unique experience that’s tailored to each guest or family.

To date, about 25% of all KLM’s Chinese customers booking online opt for this option. In line with bigger companies, including Expedia, Hello Hipmunk, can be integrated into a user’s Facebook Messenger, as well as Slack or Skype apps. In 2016, a Hipmunk study presented more evidence that millennial audiences should become a key target in the travel industry.

We’ll break this down into three key areas—Risk-Return, Target Customers, and Business Scope—while also highlighting how Automation, Augmentation, and Analysis play pivotal roles in each area. Data is the lifeblood of modern business, and AI’s ability to analyze vast amounts of data is one of its greatest strengths. Hotels collect enormous amounts of data, ranging from guest preferences to seasonal demand patterns. AI can process and analyze this data to provide actionable insights that drive both short-term wins and long-term strategies. Today’s travelers are increasingly eco-conscious, and hotels that fail to meet their expectations will be left behind. AI can play a pivotal role in advancing sustainability efforts, from reducing energy consumption to minimizing waste through predictive analytics.

To put the information you have in hand to use on your hotel’s behalf, you must sort, organize, cleanse, parse, and then transform it into something usable by human beings. In other words, you must find a way to eliminate inaccurate or duplicated data, organize it so that it all makes sense, and then put it into a format that human beings can digest, such as charts and graphs. Consumers expect the businesses they interact with to personalize all communications. That applies to everything from voice communications to email marketing, social media interactions, and more.

He said the company plans to go public by 2026 or 2027, after the hotels have been in operation for around two years, with a proven record of occupancy, cash flow, and profitability. The priority for the company now is to create a revenue stream that supports its value. We had to take special precautions to ensure that such situations wouldn’t negatively impact the customer. Additionally, we wanted to enable cross-product opportunities, such as suggesting a flight or activity based on the hotel booking dates. AI can even take it a step further to help tailor itineraries based on personal preferences and time limits. From there, users can continue giving directions to the AI for further hyper-personalization.

Will Automation Be the End of the Hotel Check-in Desk?

Efforts by established hotel brands to streamline the check-in process are still in their infancy, but there’s no shortage of ideas for how the lobby of the future could look. Holiday Inn recently introduced Open Lobby, where the multiple functions of lobby, restaurant, bar and business centre are combined in a ‘coherent space’. The design was based on numerous studies into how people used space in their own homes, combined with a survey of travel perspectives by IHG into the changing preferences of business travellers. Unsurprisingly, the survey identified a growing trend away from the traditional office format and towards a more personal, mobile-focused engagement process. The use of AI to give in-person client service is an illustration of artificial intelligence in the hospitality sector. Instinctive intelligent robots are being created, and this technology has immense growth eventuality.

So we have a list of approved designers and architects that we constantly vet to make sure that we are providing physical environments for our guests that are quite appealing. Another growth area is adventure travel, which is lodges and tented camps. These are the bucket list trips people are finally taking. We just opened our JW Marriott Masai Mara earlier this year, and we have several others signed as well. At 149 keys, the most people you can have on the ship is 300. And it’s totally manageable, because the vessel is not dense at all.

Micha, Lexi and Ariel are on hand to help guests check in, find out more information about on-site facilities and deliver room service requests, as ordered via the hotel’s app. Robo-advisors are digital platforms that provide automated, algorithm-based financial planning services with little to no human supervision. A later 2017 study from the research firm Phocuswright, a majority of working-professional respondents said that they prefer to “go rogue” by booking their own travel, rather than using travel agents or coordinators provided by the company. Mezi also claims to be an online concierge that users can chat with for trip recommendations, flight information, and hotel availability. In a 2017 study from 3CInteractive, 40 percent of millennials say they use a chatbot on a daily basis. Using Four Seasons Chat, guests can send and receive instant messages with property teams before, throughout and after their stay via nine different communications channels.

But, just because we’ve become accustomed to it, does that mean it’s the best possible experience? Chatbots, booking portals, smart apps / appliances, and even a few robots all work together to create the ideal hotel environment for guests. Automation can create seamless guest experiences (e.g., automated check-ins and smart room controls), while Augmentation ensures that human staff can focus on high-value interactions. Analysis of customer data helps hotels segment their audience and provide personalized services to tech-savvy and traditional guests alike. AI algorithms are enabling dynamic pricing strategies based on real-time demand, traveler behavior, and market trends.

What is Auto-GPT and What Is the Difference Between ChatGPT vs Auto-GPT?

This week it was announced the Four Seasons has recently expanded its multi-channel chat service with the addition of WhatsApp, the world’s most popular messaging platform. Since launch, Four Seasons Chat has exchanged over 3.5million messages, allowing guests to connect with guest services personnel on property in real time, for any need, creating more opportunities to personalize the travel experience. Unlike humans, robots are able to work 24 hours a day, which means providing service overnight when staffing is reduced, or in some cases when no concierge staff is available as the front desk is closed. They can also assist customers by assisting them in their native language. For extremely touristy areas this is a significant advantage as it ensures no miscommunications and the customer is assisted promptly.It’s important to note that robots will never fully replace humans. Both robots and humans aren’t perfect; if a robot breaks down or experiences some sort of malfunction, a human will be needed to assist.

Oftentimes, potential customers will ask chatbots questions about amenities, daily specials for hotel restaurants, and operating hours. Ensuring that these questions are answered correctly each time increases customer satisfaction as the customer experiences exactly what they were told. The reason AI is so important to consider today is not that it will replace humans in our industry, but because of how essential human connection is to succeed. At a time when the rush for technological innovation has people afraid to lose human interaction, things like eye contact, a warm smile, and a cheerful “hello” at check in speaks volumes about the service that is to come. Therefore, it’s critical that the hotel PMS is intuitive enough to enable front desk staff to do these engaging tasks, rather than keeping their heads down and eyes glued to the computer screen.

Many independent operators today have isolated departments, limiting the data and capabilities hotels can access. It’s not enough to present data between departments during meetings or discussions. Information must be accessible under one unified PMS designed to connect revenue management, room management, and operations systems to flourish, let alone leverage AI. The future of hospitality lies in creating hotel chatbots an environment where AI and human talent don’t just coexist, but actively co-evolve. By embracing the Blue Ocean Fair Process, hotels can navigate this paradigm shift, fostering a culture of innovation that permeates every level of the organization. The integration of AI should not be seen as a threat to human jobs but as a catalyst for elevating the human element of service to unprecedented heights.

Hotel industry worldwide

Almost certainly, if you ask another person to annotate the responses, the results will be similar but not identical. And what if a customer asks whether the rooms at Hotel Atlantis are clean? Would management want the bot to volunteer the carpets stink and there are cockroaches running on the walls! Periodically reviewing responses produced by the fallback handler is one way to ensure these situations don’t arise. Another is to filter out negative reviews from the corpus. A chatbot is an artificial program that simulates textbooks or voice dispatches used in one-on-one exchanges.

With a 93% automation rate, the implementation of the HiJiffy solution demonstrated its ability to overcome the challenges of answering guest questions 24/7 and streamlining these overall properties. The initial challenges of reducing front-office workload, improving efficiency, and enhancing guest experience with higher service quality were successfully addressed and resolved. At Leonardo Hotels, guests are at the heart of everything. The brand takes pride in its considerate and attentive approach to meeting guests’ wishes and needs, focusing on every detail to ensure a truly exceptional stay. Whether it is tourists, business travellers, weekenders, or conference attendees, Leonardo Hotels warmly welcomes guests seeking to make the most of their experience.

All of these apps are designed to deliver an instant concierge-style chat service to help customers plan and manage their everyday needs. They’re smart enough to handle even some complex requests and they’re constantly being refined to deal with more scenarios. This technology is applicable to almost every industry thanks to customer interaction – a prime area for smart tech to be implemented. The travel industry is a massive target for newer, smarter, more automated, personalized and predictive processes.

• This helps them navigate the complexities of AI integration and ensure that it delivers real value.
• At Booking.com, I’m the one who’s responsible for that, so I guess I have conversations with myself about that.
• This allows hosts to quickly manage the most common user interactions in just a few taps, without having to worry about translation.
• For starters, the messaging platform translates 100-plus languages in real time, allowing for response times reportedly averaging 90 seconds or less.

For many years, Agoda primarily focused on a single product, which meant our technology stack was heavily centered around hotel bookings. To enable the “connected trip,” we needed to challenge these assumptions and generalize our tech stack to support multiple products. This became even more complex when we aimed to facilitate single transactions that could include a flight, a hotel booking and an activity. The goal is for AI to improve hotel operations and streamline workflows, allowing human staff to attend to other essential tasks. One example is using robots to take extra towels, toothpaste, or food and beverages to guestrooms.

In the United States, the experience of buying Taylor Swift ticket was basically horrible. We did an entire episode on the antitrust law changes in the ’80s that led to Ticketmaster, that led to literally congressional hearings about Taylor Swift and Ticketmaster. But the thing is, though, I’d rather have that money on engineers to make better products.

But we are seeing people are beginning to pick up this idea of doing attractions and doing “what to do there,” and it is something that we are growing. We just started that a couple of years ago, so it’s relatively early, but it’s definitely something that when I am deciding… As I say, I hope a lot of people in the US — I think a lot of people in the US — know about Booking.com, and throughout the world. The only places where we would have trouble filling your travel needs would be places that we’re not allowed to operate because of either US or EU Law. Booking.com is probably about 90 percent, approximately, rounding off of the total amount of profits coming out of Booking, and people are surprised.

Marriott’s Renaissance Hotels brand plans to expand its RENAI concierge service more widely in 2024, the company said, including to more than 20 properties globally by March. At The Lindy Renaissance Charleston Hotel, Renaissance Dallas at Plano Legacy West Hotel and Renaissance Nashville Downtown, guests can test out the technology by using a QR code to connect with RENAI via text message or WhatsApp. Second, it provided us with a learning ground to develop effective Al applications.