The Lobby Boy v2031 or How Hotels Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the HXO
Terence Ronson looks ahead to 2031, when frictionless automation will have made most hotels equally smart, equally efficient, and equally forgettable — and argues that the competitive differentiator will be a new role he calls the Human Experience Orchestrator. Part behavioral psychologist, part operational commander, the HXO is the person who reads the AI's outputs and then decides, with genuine human judgment, what to actually do with...
Picture this. The year is 2031. A guest arrives at your hotel. There was no check-in queue. There was no check-in. The door recognized her. The elevator knew her floor. The thermostat had developed firm opinions about her ideal sleeping temperature and acted on them without asking. The minibar pre-stocked itself with the oat milk she mentioned (once, in passing) to a chatbot eighteen months ago. The AI didn’t just remember. It cared, in the way that only a system with no feelings whatsoever can care.
And she stands in the lobby, surrounded by frictionless perfection, and feels… nothing in particular.
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.