Context-Driven Hospitality: The Next Evolution

Rok Kokalj, Co-founder and CEO of Nevron, describes “context-driven hospitality” as the next step for an industry facing uncertainty and rising complexity. He argues that hotels should move from binary thinking to hybrid intelligence, building clear identity and purpose first so technology, especially AI agents, can support human connection and turn back-end complexity into front-end simplicity that feels seamless for guests.

Scientists, thinkers, and visionaries from all corners are saying the same thing, no matter the context they’re describing: We are living in extremely unpredictable times. The hospitality industry is probably one of the most complex industries there is, since it is braided by so many influences and factors, and is strongly dependent on all sorts of context, from geography and culture to technology to the most unpredictable one, people's moods and behaviour.

When looking into the future and trying to navigate through all the upcoming changes, unexpected turns, and countless speculations, one can easily get lost in the overwhelm. The questions, like “Where do we begin?”, “Whom do we trust?” and “Which end to hold?” reappear again and again.

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The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Annual Edition

The hotel industry in 2026 finds itself at the meeting point of powerful, converging forces: rapid technological progress, climate urgency, shifting guest expectations, labour market disruption and economic realignment. This edition of The HOTEL Yearbook looks at how hotel organisations respond, not by choosing one direction over another, but by designing integrated strategies that combine digital and human, global and local, automation and empathy. A large share of this year’s contributions focuses in particular on artificial intelligence and its growing influence across almost every segment of hospitality, confirming AI as one of the defining themes of this moment. Bringing together expert voices from around the world, the publication explores strategy, technology, sustainability, finance, asset management, food and beverage, human resources, design and more, all through the lens of intentional hybridity in an age of convergence. The message is clear: in 2026, hybridity is no longer optional; it is strategic, and it will be the leaders who approach it with real intention who shape the future of our industry.
www.hotelyearbook.com/edition/2026.html