Not another one
Andrew Sangster, editorial director and owner of Hotel Analyst, takes a sceptical-but-curious look at AI, setting its impact somewhere between “nothing burger” and “end of humanity,” and ultimately framing it as the next big platform shift rather than a doomsday machine. He explores how AI will reshape hotel systems and roles and argues that the real long-term story is a cultural and workplace reordering where empathy and craft in hospitality...
There is a famous British political meme that dates back to the 2017 snap election. In a vox pop, Brenda from Bristol, when asked about the forthcoming election, says: “You’re joking! Not another one”. The same goes for articles about AI. And yes, this is indeed another one (sorry, Brenda).
As a business and finance journalist covering hospitality and related tech developments, I have a simple rule of thumb for dealing with people who make predictions about AI. Rather like the old Yogi Berra joke that predictions are hard, especially about the future, if somebody starts speaking about AI without using the phrase “I don’t know” in at least every other sentence, I suspect they are either a fool or a charlatan.
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.