AI In The Hospitality Industry: The Impact Of AI In Hotels

As a business directly working in the hospitality industry, the way technologies are evolving is nothing short of fascinating. 

This is especially true for artificial intelligence (AI). The use of ChatGPT, guest personalisation and automation has become a trending piece for hotels, tourist websites, and so on. 

But, does this hold true for us in 2024? 

The impact of AI has been immense throughout various industries, particularly hospitality. In this post, we discuss AI within the hospitality industry - ideas for implementation, its challenges and its future within hotels, aparthotels, AirBnBs and more. Let's delve into the world of AI in hospitality. 

What Is AI?

AI, at its core, is a field in computer science. To put it simply, it's a system created to perform tasks that would normally require human intelligence. 

Think of things like smart home devices (Alexa, Siri) and recommendation systems (Netflix, Spotify), which are all systems that normally require human intervention. 

As of 2024, the current versions of AI are numerous. Typically based on a specific category, and according to IBM (Data & AI Team), types of AI can be categorised based on capabilities, functionalities, and technologies.

The State Of AI In Hospitality

AI is a feature that mimics human intelligence, ranging from chatbots for hotel websites to personalization for bookings. 

The Hotel Club made a video on the usefulness and benefits of AI within tourist accommodations, expanding beyond utility for users and providing efficient work from departments such as marketing and revenue within the hospitality industry.

The Future Of Hospitality With AI! By The Hotel Club 

The Effects Of AI On Hospitality Businesses

There are diverse businesses in hospitality, including food & beverage, entertainment & recreation, and most commonly - accommodations. 

Each business that has implemented AI at recurring scales has seen a wide range of results. Going back to the video discussed above, the likes of ChatGPT, Dall-E, and other AI-based websites that can deliver information with ease can create an easy-to-use service for answering queries, responding to reviews, and ideation for blog posts (ideal for marketing).

But, AI extends to more than just simple online information. Other departments in hospitality can benefit from automation and personalization when they are incorporated correctly. 

Operations

Often thought of as the "behind-the-scenes" portion of hotels, operations are what makes accommodations function well - overseeing key functions of a business such as guest services, food, room maintenance, general maintenance, and more. 

How AI can assist in deep operations is through the automated integrations of specific features. This includes chatbots, facial recognition, and resource optimisation examples. These can save both money and time for operations as it alleviates the need for additional resources! 

Sales & MICE Tourism 

Sales and acquiring corporate travellers are significant for hospitality venues and accommodations as they are fundamental to revenue acquisition. 

With sales, AI can be used to help manage customer behaviour, automating tasks that are often repetitive and creating upselling opportunities.

Guest Experience 

Utilising AI for improving guest experience is excellent for ensuring customer satisfaction is met with efficiency. With the use of digital intelligence, you can identify any consistencies in customer behaviour through analysed data by AI - a game changer for creating enhanced customer experience. 

Marketing 

Marketing, whether it might be public relations, SEO, or copywriting, is elevated through the use of web-based AI software. The likes of ChatGPT, Dall-E and Bard, for example, can make campaigns much more effective with easier ideation processes and content creation*. 

Obstacles & Challenges: Disadvantages With AI Reliance 

Automated technology is - and will likely always be - at a stage where full reliance is not ideal. 

Software that offers AI capabilities is near-endless, but full dependency on these features can sometimes set your business back.

Human intervention is still needed 

When writing copy for websites, ads, or brochures, for example, edits made by humans are still highly required. Capture essences such as brand voicing are crucial in companies that want to keep a specific brand style, which cannot be achieved through AI.

Not to mention, lack of creativity and empathy are also big disadvantages of using AI. Operations require on-hand maintenance for various departments, and AI simply cannot achieve this with its capabilities.

The information provided may be inaccurate 

AI systems are prone to mistakes, the same as humans. Back when COVID hit worldwide, AI-powered COVID predictors were relied upon to predict which patients would develop severe respiratory diseases (as an example). However, the predictive performance was weak in real-world clinical environments in terms of what was expected - according to The BMJ.

Limited knowledge 

As mentioned before, AI will commonly lack any innovative output as answers developed by them date back to 2021 at the latest. meaning innovative content is still a problem when it comes to automated technologies. 

Data privacy/security

The use of AI means tools will be required to gather, store, and process invaluable data. With this in mind, security concerns over data privacy are highly discussed. How will systems that utilise AI handle data privacy? Are there security measures that can deter improper use of data by external sources? 

High costs

Regardless of AI's drawbacks, it's safe to assume that its trends will mean more businesses across hospitality will utilise it as effectively as possible. Thus, high costs are expected due to high demand, high cost of production and high usability. 

The Future Of Hospitality... With AI?

The more we use AI, the more likely we can expect it to evolve. It's important to note that automated intelligence such as those underlined in this blog will continue to learn, expand and create better uses for businesses in the hospitality industry. 

So, what does the future look like when it comes to AI and hospitality? 

AI tools will improve hotel guest experience

It's common for guests to expect lightning-fast responses to inquiries at the front desk regardless of whether it's a human or a digital system that answers their questions, process their booking, and so on. In regards to this, the guest experience will improve but must be used with human expertise.

Lower costs for other operational services

Automating repetitive tasks, creating systems and streamlining operations are just some of the ways that AI can help lower costs for all operational tasks in a hotel. 

Improved security 

One characteristic often missed in AI is its efficiency in the detection of anomalies. This makes it highly effective for improving network security as the implemented algorithms work to detect patterns that suggest potential cyber-security threats. Creating secure accommodations is crucial for protecting visitors, and with the introduction of AI, identifying security risks is becoming easier.

AI-driven personalisation

Automated technology can create personalised experiences through various methods. Loyalty programmes, for example, can store previous information regarding a guest's visit, and tailor their next visit via a digital assistant. Targeted advertising campaigns via newsletters and search ads are also useful for attracting newer visitors with similar interests to that of the previous hotel's guests!

Travel search in hospitality 

As many might already know, Google's Search Generative Experience is in a big testing phase. For those who might be unfamiliar, Google's SGE is an experimental search experience that uses generative artificial intelligence to help searchers get a quick, easy-to-read overview of their search topic - without having to click on individual webpages.  

It's an interesting time to be in the industry. Our marketing team has also given their take on SGE for travel search. 

Will AI Hold Its Value In Years To Come? 

Automation and features under it are - in no doubt - seeing its use for hospitality. Cutting out intensive work, diversifying your services and securing your hotel better is no short of amazing. 

However, human intervention will always be required in certain AI systems. As professionals within the industry, we understand how adaptation is highly required for such an intense market. A hotel cannot survive without keeping up with hospitality trends, and while AI can easily comprehend changes within travel and tourism, its performance will fall short without the drive for innovation. 

In short, AI is great as an assisting piece of a business's various services, but should not be fully relied upon if you want to develop your company's performance further.

We love speaking about industry-level topics such as AI! As part of the hospitality industry, we thrive in ensuring we keep up to date with the latest trends in the travel and tourism market.