1. What should hospitality prioritise in 2026?

The hospitality industry must build on the exemplars of performative sustainability towards a transformative regeneration. In other words, from sustaining to healing! The sector can no longer afford to dwell at the periphery of systemic change, tinkering with low-leverage interventions such as LED bulbs, reusing towels and low-flow fixtures. While these remain necessary, they are insufficient and superficial.

The priority must be to reimagine the purpose of hospitality itself. We must ask: is our goal merely to provide comfort and generate profit, or can we redefine hospitality as a regenerative force, a necessary societal healing power, one that restores the mental health of individuals and even ecosystems, uplifts communities, and rebalances our relationship with this great spaceship of ours called Earth?

This means prioritising:

  • Regenerative business models that go beyond net-zero to net-positive impacts.
  • Localised supply chains that support biodiversity and community resilience.
  • Transparent carbon and biodiversity accounting embedded into core KPIs.
  • Education and leadership development that fosters systems thinking and ethical stewardship.
  • Deep collaboration between industry and academia, ensuring that cutting-edge research informs practice, and that real-world challenges shape academic inquiry. The silos between knowledge creation and operational application must be dismantled to accelerate innovation and scale impact.

2. How would you recommend prioritising these actions?

If we stick with Meadows framework itself, I would probably prioritise the following:

  • Paradigm mindset: Engage boards, investors, and leadership teams in redefining the why of hospitality. This requires courageous conversations and a willingness to challenge entrenched economic narratives.
  • Goals of the system: Shift performance metrics. Replace or complement RevPAR with metrics like GHG per guest night, local economic multiplier, or biodiversity net gain.
  • System Structure Reconfigure procurement, franchising, and ownership models to enable decentralised, context-sensitive decision-making.
  • Information Flows Mandate real-time sustainability reporting with the same rigour as financial data. Make environmental performance as visible and consequential as occupancy rates.

To support this, industry-academia partnerships must be elevated from occasional collaborations to strategic alliances. Joint research, co-designed curricula, and shared innovation labs can ensure that sustainability solutions are both academically rigorous and operationally viable.

Only after these higher-leverage interventions are addressed should we refine parameters. Otherwise, we risk polishing the brass on a sinking ship.

3. How can technology help make that happen?

Technology is not the solution; it is the tool that enables solutions. But only when aligned with the right goals. Some thoughts on how technology can help include:

  • Data Transparency Platforms: Blockchain and IoT can ensure traceability of supply chains, enabling guests and stakeholders to see the true impact of their stays.
  • AI-Driven Decision Support: Machine learning can optimise energy, water, and waste systems, but more importantly, it can model complex scenarios to support regenerative planning.
  • Digital Twins: Virtual replicas of hotel operations can simulate the impact of systemic changes before implementation, reducing risk and enhancing strategic foresight.
  • Immersive Training: AR/VR can be used to train staff and leaders in systems thinking, empathy, and sustainability literacy, embedding new paradigms at the human level.

Moreover, technology can bridge the gap between academia and industry, enabling real-time data sharing, collaborative research platforms, and scalable dissemination of best practices. Universities can become living labs for innovation, while industry partners provide the testbeds for applied experimentation.

As we look towards 2026, hospitality faces a defining challenge:  to evolve from performative sustainability to transformative regeneration. For too long, we have tinkered at the edges with low-impact actions: LED bulbs, towel reuse, and low-flow taps. These are good starting points, but they are not enough. The time has come to rethink the very purpose of hospitality itself.

Are we here merely to provide comfort and profit, or can hospitality become a regenerative force,  one that restores mental health, supports communities, and heals our relationship with the planet?

A New Set of Priorities

If the next decade is to belong to a truly regenerative hospitality sector, we must prioritise:

  • Regenerative business models that move from net-zero to net-positive impact.
  • Local supply chains that strengthen biodiversity and community resilience.
  • Transparent environmental accounting,  carbon, biodiversity, and social impact as core performance indicators.
  • Education and leadership that cultivate systems thinking and ethical stewardship.
  • Deep collaboration between academia and industry, where innovation is co-created and shared.

Hospitality has always been about caring for people;  the next step is to care for the planet with the same sincerity.

Where to Begin

Donella Meadows' systems thinking reminds us that the greatest leverage lies in shifting mindsets, not just metrics. Boards and investors must engage in courageous conversations about why hospitality exists. Once the purpose changes, everything else can follow.

We must redefine success. Traditional metrics and KPIs should be complemented with new ones: greenhouse gas per guest night, biodiversity net gain, or local economic benefit. Procurement and ownership models should allow decentralised, context-sensitive decision-making. And sustainability performance must become as visible and rigorous as financial reporting.

Industry-academia partnerships are key to this transformation. Co-designed research, living labs, and shared data platforms can accelerate innovation and ensure solutions are both visionary and viable.

Technology as an Enabler, Not a Fix

Technology should serve a purpose, not drive it. When aligned with regenerative goals, it can be a powerful ally:

  • Blockchain and IoT for transparent, traceable supply chains.
  • AI and digital twins to model regenerative scenarios and optimise resource use.
  • Immersive learning tools (AR/VR) to train leaders in empathy, systems thinking, and sustainability literacy.

Technology also connects industry and academia, creating real-time knowledge ecosystems that turn theory into action. Universities can become living laboratories for innovation, while industry provides the testbeds for experimentation and scale.

From Hospitality to Healing

The essence of hospitality has always been human care. In this new era, care must extend beyond the guest to the associates, the community, the ecosystem, and the future itself.

The goal for 2026 is clear: hospitality must not simply sustain, it must heal.