Connected, optimistic, human: a snapshot of hospitality's future from 750 hoteliers at Mews Unfold

[Amsterdam, 4 June 2026] - Mews, the hospitality operating system, shared findings from a live audience poll held during Mews Unfold 2026, the company's annual hospitality forum. The event brought together more than 750 hoteliers, operators and industry leaders in Amsterdam. Mews polled attendees throughout the day and their answers show how a room of industry experts sees the forces reshaping hospitality: the role of new technology, the place of AI in a people-first business, and the move from fragmented software to connected systems. 

Appetite for new technology is high. 

80% of respondents said they are excited about the role new technologies will play in hospitality. The finding matches Mews' wider hotelier research, in which 92% said they were optimistic about AI in hospitality.¹ 

That enthusiasm reflects a wider change in what hoteliers expect technology to do. The conversation on stage returned to a single idea: hotels sell the whole trip, not only the room. Guests book an experience and a moment, and the room is one part of it. The opportunity is to serve more of that trip, through new services and partnerships that meet guests where their expectations already sit. Mews' new partnership with Uber brings ride booking inside the operating system. The trip to and from the property becomes part of the stay, not a separate transaction outside the hotel. Food and beverage, local experiences, transport and wellness are all revenue that leaves through the door today. For hoteliers, the wider experience is where the growth sits. 

Most believe technology will make hospitality more human. 

At the start of the day, 60% of attendees felt that new technology would make hospitality more human. By the close, that figure rose to 80%. The change across a single day of talks, presentations and workshops is clear, and it reframes one of the industry's oldest worries. 

Many fear that technology erodes the human core of hospitality. The case made at Unfold was the opposite. AI is now hard to avoid, and doing it well is the real test. Technology providers need the right architecture, clean data and sound processes, not more systems stacked on top of one another. Hotels need their data in order and a clear view of where AI helps. Staff need the willingness to change and experiment. Roles will not disappear, but they will change. The front desk agent becomes a host, the revenue manager becomes a strategist. 

Hoteliers are moving from fragmented tools toward connected systems. 

At the start of the day, just over half of attendees (51%) said that having all their tools work together mattered more than assembling best-of-breed point solutions. After Mews introduced the Mews Operating System, 83% said the operating system strategy was the right fit for their business. The two questions are not a direct comparison, but the movement points to a real change in mindset over the day. 

That change sits at the heart of what Unfold set out to argue: For forty years, hotel software has run on a category map of acronyms: PMS, RMS, CRS, CRM, POS. The five product launches at Unfold collapse that map into one platform, one data model and one bill. The comparison made on stage was direct: the iPhone did not improve the phone, it made the old device obsolete. An operating system for hospitality does the same to the old stack. The data suggests that hoteliers increasingly believe that technology can be both seamlessly connected and provide best-in-class capabilities. 

"The results are a clear snapshot of where the industry stands. The appetite for new technology is real, and our customers are optimistic, not anxious,” said Richard Valtr, Founder of Mews. “They see that technology, and AI in particular, will make hospitality more human by giving teams back the time to do what they do best. And they are ready to move on from a category map drawn forty years ago, toward systems that finally work as one. The mandate from this room was clear, and we will deliver on it."  

"Mews Unfold 2026 was an inspiring gathering of hospitality innovators, industry leaders, and passionate professionals, all coming together to shape the future of hospitality while building meaningful connections.” added Luca Molinari, Hotel Manager at Glamp Nusa. 

Save the date: Mews will return to Amsterdam on May 12, 2027.    

¹ Mews Hotelier Survey, Q1 2026. N=500 hoteliers from US, CA, FR, DE, UK 

Media Contact

George Barker

Director of Communications [email protected]