AI Should Empower, Not Replace, Human Hospitality

Exclusive Interview with Samir Abi Frem, CEO, Lokalee

Tell us about your journey in hospitality and the vision behind Lokalee

I’m the CEO of Advanced Digital Technology, developers of Lokalee. Prior to founding Lokalee in 2020, I worked for 20+ years in global hospitality IT, most recently as Corporate VP of IT with Rotana Hotels Management.  Lokalee has allowed me to combine my passion for technology and hospitality.

Lokalee was born out of a vision to transform the way travellers experience their trips. We recognised a gap in the market for a content platform that seamlessly connects travellers with the hotel they’re staying at, and the authentic local experiences destinations have to offer.

What does Lokalee do and how does the platform help hotel owners and operators?

Lokalee is an AI-powered guest companion allowing guests to access hotel services and browse and book unique local experiences on one digital platform. From learning about the hotel’s facilities and promotions, ordering room service or extra pillows, to chatting with the concierge and booking unique local experiences, Lokalee brings all this together under one digital experience for the guest, while seamlessly integrating with a hotel’s existing apps and systems. Guests can browse and book everything a hotel and the destination have to offer, curated by our local experts and supported by our global partners.

Specifically designed for hotels and holiday homes, Lokalee was developed to help hoteliers enhance their guest experience and increase customer satisfaction, drive commission and ancillary revenue, and improve operational efficiency.

From your perspective, what is the biggest challenge hoteliers face right now?

Providing highly personalised guest experiences is a key priority for hoteliers in response to ever-evolving needs and expectations of travellers, but it’s often also one of their key challenges. We help hoteliers digitise their guest journey and provide unique and personalised local experiences and facilitate the way to book these by complementing the hotel concierge team. AI technology plays a pivotal role in this. Hotel staff can offer recommendations, but they rely on personal knowledge and experience, which may not always align with every guest’s preferences. AI-powered platforms, such as Lokalee, use advanced data analytics to predict individual guest behaviours and anticipate their choices. This helps hotels refine offerings, provide upsell opportunities for in-room services, dining, and curated activities through more personalised offers and promotions.

How can AI-powered tools streamline hotel operations, particularly in enhancing efficiency and guest services?

The growing integration of AI in the hospitality sector presents opportunities across all aspects of hotel operations. Many guest requests such as booking airport transfers, ordering in-room dining and providing directions, can be addressed by AI-powered tools such as Lokalee, freeing up staff to focus on more complex and high-touch customer service. This not only boosts efficiency but ensures a quicker, smoother experience for guests.

Besides tracking and monitoring guest preferences and behaviour in real time, AI is much faster and more efficient than humans in collecting and processing this data to continually refine services. This means it can predict guest needs, suggest tailored experiences based on previous interactions, enhancing satisfaction and loyalty.

What advice can you give hotels that are considering implementing AI powered solutions?

My advice is to start small and scale gradually. Begin with a pilot program to test the technology, then ensure the solution integrates smoothly with existing hotel software and platforms to avoid operational disruptions. Train your employees to work alongside the AI solutions so they can step in when necessary and leverage the technology effectively, and communicate transparently with your guests to let them know that they are interacting with an AI tool.

How can hoteliers maintain the human, personal touch while leveraging AI tools?

At Lokalee, we recognise that while AI has the power to enhance the guest experience, it’s essential that we keep the human element at the forefront of everything we do. Our goal is not to replace human interaction, but to empower hotel teams and elevate the guest experience through smart, personalised interactions.

AI may assist with guest inquiries, but if a more complex request arises, it can seamlessly escalate the interaction to a staff member. This ensures that the guest experience remains personal, with the right balance of automation and human touch. Every hotel has its own unique culture and personality, and we understand that it’s essential for this to shine through every guest interaction, whether AI-driven or human.

What are the key advancements in AI that you’re most excited about, and how will they shape the future of hospitality?

Personally, I’m excited about the ability of AI to understand and engage in human-like conversations, which is rapidly advancing thanks to improvements in natural language processing (NLP). This technology will enable more intuitive communication between guests and hotel systems, whether through chatbots or messaging platforms. Soon, guests will be able to make reservations, request services, or get local recommendations simply by speaking or typing in natural language. This breakthrough will ensure an even more frictionless, instant, and personalised experience, enabling guests to interact with the hotel in a way that feels more like communicating with a human.

Lokalee has recently been acquired by Beaconsmind, after successfully securing funding early last year, what’s next in Lokalee’s growth journey?

The acquisition by beaconsmind and Swissnet AG presents an exciting opportunity for us to accelerate our growth and further solidify our position as a leader in AI-driven hospitality solutions. The group adds complementary strengths and capabilities that will allow us to enhance and expand our offerings, bringing cutting-edge technologies that align with Lokalee’s vision of enhancing the guest experience. With beaconsmind’s expertise in location-based services, IoT, and proximity marketing, we’ll be able to leverage advanced geolocation and real-time engagement capabilities to deliver even more contextually relevant, personalised content to guests.

The acquisition opens the door to new markets and strategic partnerships. beaconsmind and Swissnet AG have established networks in key hospitality and technology sectors, and we can leverage these connections to accelerate our growth. We’ll have greater access to larger hotel chains, resorts, and destinations, enabling Lokalee to provide its AI-driven digital concierge services to a wider audience and drive adoption at scale.