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Having a human at the helm, not just in the loop, is key to setting AI agents' goals, limits, and escalation triggers, and then to being able to watch the audit trail for anomalies.First, delegate commercial tasks that already operate on written rules, reserving human judgment for those that don't.These tasks go first because the limits are already written.

Hotels have increasingly adopted AI for data analysis and recommendations, yet decision-making and execution remain largely manual. The next leap is moving from AI-powered insights to autonomous action, with humans focusing on governance, strategy and exceptions.In Revenue Management, agents can monitor demand and adjust rates, inventory and restrictions autonomously.

We've seen that significant revenue opportunities, both from groups and leisure guests, exist inside reservation teams' Outlook inboxes, but they often lack the time and capacity to systematically manage them.I think one of the first things hotels should delegate to AI agents is managing these opportunities from the initial inquiry all the way to a booking, although that is very hard to do correctly and responsibly.AI agents should be able to understand guest requests, check availability and rates, prepare relevant offers, and proactively follow up if the guest, travel agent, or whoever made the inquiry doesn't respond.

The hospitality industry faces persistent structural challenges, including low pay, demanding working conditions, seasonality, unsociable hours, limited career progression and poor work–life balance. Additionally, AI, labour mobility, economic pressures and employment uncertainty create new challenges that contribute to high employee turnover, increasing recruitment costs, loss of expertise, reduced operational efficiency and compromised service quality.During the “Great Uncertainty”, organisations must move beyond traditional engagement approaches, recognising that employees are more likely to care for guests when they feel cared for themselves.

Employee engagement depends on whether people feel secure, valued and respected at work. During the “Great Uncertainty”, hospitality employers need to give employees confidence that their effort will be recognised, fairly rewarded and supported.This starts with good working conditions, manageable workloads and decent salaries, particularly at the lower end of the pay scale.

The level of uncertainty in today's workplace is unprecedented. Social media promotes unrealistic lifestyles and income opportunities, causing many employees to question their current jobs and contributes to the "grass is greener" phenomenon.