The continual advancements in technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are not just reshaping, but fundamentally transforming the hospitality industry, driving exponential value for sales, marketing, and revenue management, today and tomorrow.

A hot topic for the industry, AI is one of the key areas of focus at this year’s HSMAI Middle East & Africa Commercial Strategy Conference, taking place on 26-27 November at the Conrad Dubai. Tackling the most pressing trends facing hotel executives, the annual conference brings together the region’s hospitality sales, marketing, distribution and revenue management community for unmatched industry insights and inspiration.

The event will take a 360- degree look at AI in hospitality, covering it from inspiration and theory to practical applications across sales, marketing, distribution and revenue management. In the lead up to the conference, we asked four industry leaders for their insights into the future applications and implications of technology and AI in hospitality.

With input from John Sanei, Global Futurist, 5x bestselling author and 2x award-winning podcast co-host; Michael J. Goldrich, Founder & Chief Advisor, Vivander Advisors LLC; Leo Barrit, Vice President of Sales, FLYR Hospitality; CS Ramachandran, CRME, VP, Hotel Revenue Optimization, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, and Michael McCartan, Area Vice President EMEA, IDeaS.

How do you see AI be(come) a real work partner to sales, marketing, revenue management and distribution professionals?

All five industry leaders agree that AI is rapidly evolving from just a tool to a powerful work partner. By automating routine and data-intensive tasks and facilitating data-driven decision making, AI significantly increases productivity and impact as it frees teams to focus on strategy, creativity, customer relationships, and revenue growth.

“From a revenue manager standpoint, there are a dozen or more tasks they have to do on a weekly basis, from daily pickups and forecasting, to reporting, analysis etc. There are a lot of disparate tasks that make up their 40+ hour work week. AI is going to cut down dramatically on many of those tasks by creating the initial reports and analyses for them, and now they’ll just have to manage by exception. Revenue managers and their teams will provide guardrails for AI to operate within, and then managers can perform any tasks outside those guardrails,” said Leo Barrit. 

“AI is a force multiplier,” said Michael Goldrich. “In revenue management, AI analyzes real-time market trends, enabling dynamic pricing and demand forecasting. For marketing, it personalizes guest communications and optimizes campaigns based on granular data insights.”

Michael McCartan echoes this sentiment, “Applied in revenue management solutions specifically, AI and automation play a critical role in processing forecasting-related data to detect shifts in demand and quickly responding with recommended pricing and inventory management decisions.”

CS Ramachandran added, “In sales, AI’s predictive analytics and automation lead to better performance and higher deal closures. Overall, AI reduces workload and stress, contributing to higher job satisfaction and employee retention.”

Looking beyond what AI can do today, John Sanei commented: “The real question is how we are using AI in preparation for the future. This is what I call the ‘AI opportunity radar’ which has four quadrants: the internal and external realms of AI application as well as the differentiation between today and tomorrow. Many organizations focus on just the internal applications of AI for today, without planting the seeds for tomorrow’s work. In fact, that’s just 25 percent of the opportunity that exists. We need to move from a focus on AI as a tool to AI as an unprecedented partner to transform an organization’s core offering, to revolutionize the industry, or even establish a new one.”

If everyone is going to be using AI, how can hotels and brands still differentiate themselves? How can we balance automation with the need for personalized guest experiences? 

The interviewees agree that true differentiation hinges on how seamlessly hotels integrate AI with the human touch to provide the unique and authentic experience travelers expect today. Also, a critical component is the training of teams to discern when to rely on AI and when to step in with genuine human empathy. The combination of guest engagement training with the right technology and established feedback mechanisms will be crucial for continuous service improvement.

Michael Goldrich said, “Leading brands will leverage AI to anticipate guest needs and personalize at scale, while still delivering warmth and authenticity through frontline staff. Ultimately, successful hotels will make the human-AI collaboration invisible, leaving guests with the impression of superior, attentive service.”

John Sanei commented, “Like many other technologies AI will become democratized, and to some extent it already has. It’s not about which AI tools you use, it’s what the teams do with the technology to enhance the customer experience and transform the curation, creation, and delivery of the hotel or brand’s core offering. We need to think about how AI can help organizations build new capacity and give them the ability to behave towards the future. Asking existing teams to innovate – let alone disrupt – doesn’t work. We need to build ‘tomorrow teams’ that work alongside the today team to make this happen.”

From CS Ramachandran’s perspective, “HI (Human Interaction) will trump AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the fast-evolving landscape of AI especially in hospitality. Hotels must differentiate by blending automation alongside personalized guest experiences. Some steps in this direction include creating a unique brand identity, ensuring exceptional human interaction, while utilising innovative technology to enhance services.”

“In the hotel industry, we of course already have different classes ranging from luxury to economy, but AI is going to help personalize the offer for you even more precisely,” commented Leo Barrit. “With AI, the hotel will know the individual customer or guest, know your likes and dislikes, your buying propensity and timing, and provide you with a personalized offer that will resonate with you. The industry will evolve to that quickly. Pricing is a component of that, but as AI learns more from customer data that will be a part of providing those very personalized offers.”

Michael McCartan said, “A strong brand identity is key. If using AI-enabled tools like an online chatbot or a voice-activated virtual assistant to interact with guests, ensure that they reflect your brand’s personality and tone of voice. This consistency across all touchpoints, from online to in-person, creates a more seamless and memorable guest experience. One thing that will go a long way with guests is to ensure you are being transparent about how you use AI and prioritize data privacy. This builds trust with guests and positions your brand as a responsible and ethical leader.”

What jobs do you think AI could make redundant in hospitality and what new roles could it create, especially when it comes to sales, marketing, revenue management and distribution?  

John Sanei said, “Every job that is repetitive in its activities will be the first to become redundant and to be replaced by AI. Although it will be impossible to say which jobs we will have and need in the future, we will see a profound shift in the relationship between humans and machines. We will see two types of businesses: those driven by AI and robots and organic businesses engineered by humans. The currency of the future is human connection, which will become the highest form of luxury and present a great opportunity to the hospitality industry for purposeful, transformational travel and tourism.”

Michael McCartan commented “While AI won’t entirely replace human roles, it will undoubtedly reshape the nature of these jobs. As the economist Richard Baldwin famously said at 2023 World Economic Forum’s Growth Summit, “AI won’t take your job, it’s somebody using AI that will take your job”. As AI becomes more sophisticated, new roles will emerge. AI Specialists, Data Analysts, and AI Ethics Officers will be in high demand to develop, implement, and manage AI systems ethically. Additionally, human-centred Design Specialists will be crucial to ensure seamless human-AI collaboration.”

Michael Goldrich said, “AI will likely redefine roles such as data entry, basic customer service, and routine reporting in hospitality. However, this shift will open the door to new, specialized positions: AI Strategy Managers to oversee ethical deployment, Experience Design Architects to create hybrid digital-human guest journeys, and Revenue Intelligence Officers to merge AI insights with industry acumen. AI in hospitality isn’t about eliminating jobs; it’s about evolving them. The future belongs to those who can synergize AI’s capabilities with human creativity, transforming service delivery into a refined art.”

CS Ramachandran added, “As with every other decade, when there is a change in technology, the industry adapts with new roles. We have seen Sustainability Specialists, Guest Experience Managers and DEI focused roles emerge, and now existing roles will evolve and adapt to include technology expertise. The most successful professionals will be those who can effectively collaborate with AI, oversee the work, and identify opportunities for AI implementation.”

Leo Barrit thinks the headcount will likely stay neutral. “The productivity of your managers will increase, but their skillsets will need to continually be enhanced. We’re still in the early days with natural language prompts, where the key is still making sure you’re using the right prompts. I believe that eventually as machine learning improves, we’ll arrive to the point where you don’t have to be quite as good in writing prompts within a few years.” 

What safeguards should be in place to maintain brand authenticity when it comes to using AI? 

CS Ramachandran said, “There are a lot of guidelines being developed around this especially given the exponential use of AI tools. Transparency in AI usage is key, this includes how we collect data and how we avoid the stereotyping of the same. High-quality, diverse datasets are key to train AI models as poor data will not only lead to inaccurate results but also further ‘AI Hallucinations’. AI tools for real-time sentiment analysis helps to align brand messaging with consumer perceptions. By implementing these measures, brands can harness AI’s power while preserving authenticity and fostering customer trust.”

“Now more than ever, ethical guidelines and data privacy are paramount,” commented Michael McCartan. “Transparency about AI usage, rigorous data privacy and security measures, and adherence to ethical AI practices, including eliminating bias in AI algorithms, are crucial not only to build trust with customers, but also to ensure accuracy. AI tools must also be ‘trained’ to align with a hotel’s brand voice and personality. Comprehensive brand guidelines, AI training on high-quality, brand-aligned content, and human review of AI-generated content ensures consistency – and must be regularly monitored and fine-tuned.”

Leo Barrit said: “The hotel brand will need to apply proper guardrails and parameters on how AI is being used. If you’re applying the right parameters on pricing and the structure of your brand should be portrayed, the AI will operate within those. For a large hotel brand, they may not be able to centralize the efforts of thousands of hotels, but they can create a set of guidelines that speak to their global brand, and then more specific sales and marketing guidelines for individual properties or regions.”

Michael Goldrich commented, “To maintain brand authenticity with AI, hotels must establish rigorous standards and oversight. Clear guidelines for AI-generated content, structured human reviews for customer-facing outputs, and AI governance frameworks are essential. Training teams on AI’s limitations, setting up authentication protocols, and conducting regular audits ensure AI aligns with brand voice and values. Equally crucial is transparency around AI’s role in guest interactions. Authenticity is built by candidly integrating AI, enhancing the guest experience without overshadowing the human essence of hospitality.”

John Sanei concluded, “The highest form of technology is authenticity. With the democratization of AI tools, these will no longer be a differentiator. Brand authenticity will be driven by how companies are using technology, including AI, to give guests the authentic experience they are looking for.”