Let’s Get Rid of the CIO
Mark Fancourt delivers a blunt, experience-backed argument against the industry's growing temptation to hollow out technology leadership in the name of AI efficiency. With 37 years in hospitality and 13 as a CIO, he makes the case that adding AI on top of fragmented, underfunded, and poorly governed tech stacks does not simplify anything — it compounds the chaos, and removing the people who understand the system is precisely the wrong...
The hospitality industry stands at the next precarious crossroads. Our technology journey has seen us navigate Global Distribution Systems (GDS), business applications, interfaces and connectivity, the internet, digital marketplaces, data centers, the cloud, mobile and the mobile workforce, information security, and big data, only to find ourselves at the new crossroads of AI.
But let’s be direct: everyone is still wondering what to do with technology. I recently gave a presentation on AI to a group of operational leaders, and the truth of the situation is clear. Nothing has fundamentally changed just because we have another evolutionary layer of technology. We cannot take our hands off the steering wheel, Tesla-style, while we crash and burn.
The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Technology Edition
The 2026 HOTEL Yearbook Technology Edition - AI Everywhere is fully geared towards AI and explores how hospitality technology is preparing for a decade of profound change. With a clear focus on practical impact rather than hype, this edition examines how intelligence is becoming embedded across the hotel technology stack and day-to-day workflows, reshaping operations, revenue, distribution, guest experience, and the back office.
The publication will feature 40 editorial articles by domain experts, combined with a catalog of AI Solution Snapshots, offering readers both strategic insight and a curated overview of AI products currently available to the market, as well as an AI Glossary - a glossary of the most commonly used AI-related terms in hospitality. It brings together a wide spectrum of contributors, including academics, startups, hotel brands, established solution providers, and industry insiders, offering evidence-led perspectives, real-world lessons, and actionable guidance on what hoteliers should prioritize now to stay competitive in an AI-driven future. The publication will launch at HITEC 2026, San Antonio.