Destination AI Forum 2026: Hotels Are Ready. Now Comes the How.

This article took a little longer than I planned. Destination AI Forum was three weeks ago now, and after Washington, life at home needed me for a while. So I did not write about it straight away.

Looking back, I do not mind. When you write about an event the next day, you write about everything you saw. When you write about it three weeks later, you write about what really stayed with you. For me, that comes down to two things. Hotels are ready for AI, but many are still looking for the how. And at a conference all about AI, it was the people who made it.

From sceptical to curious

At Hospitality Net we have been talking with hotels and suppliers about AI since the very start. In those first conversations, a lot of people were sceptical. I even remember someone telling me they were not going to use AI at all.

In Washington I did not hear that anymore. People are curious and want to try AI and use it. The event was sold out this year, with more than 500 people in the room, and there was even a waiting list.

But being ready is not the same as knowing how. My feeling is that many people still do not really know how to use AI in their daily work, in a way that actually makes their job easier. I heard that question a lot in my conversations, in different words: where do we start, and how do we make this work for our team? Even on stage, several speakers said quite honestly that they do not have all the answers either. Things are simply changing too fast.

The AI Showcase

This was one of my favourite parts of the event. Each time, a supplier and a hotel company were on stage together, with seven minutes to show what they had done together, followed by questions from the room. I liked that these were real examples from real hotels, and not a sales pitch.

HHM Hotels and Folio, for example, use an AI agent that suggests a cheaper approved product at the moment someone places an order. That gave them about 370,000 dollars a year in potential savings. Commonwealth Hotels and Ponte use AI to get back to job applicants within minutes instead of days. Over three months, that saved 685 manager hours across eight hotels.

What I noticed is that none of these projects started with the technology. They started with a problem the hotel had every day, like hiring staff or ordering supplies. I think that is a very good place for any hotel to start: look at what costs your team the most time, and see where AI can help there.

The Great AI Debate

Another format I really liked. Three PMS leaders, Adam Harris of Cloudbeds, Jacob Messina of Stayntouch and Richard Valtr of Mews, went head to head, with Sloan Dean of AI Hospitality Group as moderator. The main question was whether hotels should run on one platform that does everything, or choose the best system for each job.

They did not agree on everything, and that is exactly what made it fun to watch. At one point Jacob simply said he fundamentally disagreed with Richard. At the end the audience voted, and Jacob took home the trophy.

Afterwards Steve Carran of The Modern Hotelier challenged other suppliers to do the same with their competitors. I hope they do, because you learn a lot more from an honest discussion than from a polished presentation. And who knows, maybe it is a nice new format for Hospitality Net too.

Richard ended the debate with a point I agree with. Jobs in hotels will change, he said, and it is up to all of us to use AI to make hospitality more human again, with people greeting guests instead of standing behind a desk.

The people in the room

Destination AI has an intimate feel and a really nice atmosphere. That made it easy to get in touch with people, and everyone was very open to a chat.

It was also the first time I went to an event completely on my own, and I think that helped. You do not stay in your own little group, you just start talking to whoever is next to you. I made a lot of new connections, and it was really nice to see familiar faces again and catch up.

I also liked the mix of suppliers and hoteliers. At some events I have the feeling that hoteliers are hard to find in the room. Here they were not only in the room, they were also on stage, sharing their own experiences next to the suppliers. That makes the conversation much more real.

Early morning, day two

The session I remember best was the first one on day two, about how AI can help hotels prevent human trafficking. It was early in the morning, but there were still quite a few people in the room.

Noel Thomas, founder and CEO of Darkwatch, shared why this topic is so personal for him. When he was a child, a stranger walked off with his four-year-old sister in a public place, and luckily his father was just in time to stop them at the exit.

The panel then showed how AI can help hotel staff recognise the signs and act faster, from checking reservations before guests arrive to getting a report to the police within seconds. It was a very different topic from the rest of the two days, and it really touched me. It also showed how much technology can mean when it is used for something this important.

No big news

Did I hear anything groundbreaking? To be honest, I did not hear one big new thing. And maybe that is the news.

A year or two ago, AI events were mostly about what might be possible. This time it was much more about what hotels are actually doing: what works, what does not work yet, and what it costs. For me, that is a good sign for our industry.

What I take home

If you were not in Washington, these are the things I would like to pass on.

Start with a problem in your hotel, not with the tool. The best examples I heard all began with something that cost a team time every single day.

Take your team with you. Many leaders already see the benefit of AI in their own work, but the people on the floor often do not feel it yet. Talk with them, train them and let them try.

And keep sharing with each other. Nobody has it all figured out yet, not even the people building the technology, so we can learn a lot from each other.

Thank you

A big thank you to Nazpari Aydin, who put this whole event together, and to everyone who helped her on the day. It was very well organised and had a really warm atmosphere. And thank you to everyone I met, old friends and new connections.

I hope we can be there again next year as a partner. I would not want to miss it.

Want to know more about what was said on stage? Read my overview: https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4134987/destination-ai-forum-2026-what-was-said-on-stage.