We didn't go to HITEC 2026 for the demos. We went for the conversations. We sat down with exhibitors right there on the show floor. No script, no prepared questions, just one starting point: tell us what you do, in plain language. This is where it went with Andrew Pirret, Senior Vice President of Product at Alliants.
Tuesday brought an argument that Google's ad-auction model leaves the door open for a new AI-native distribution entrant, fresh Phocuswright data showing bed bug safety has overtaken cleanliness and value as travelers' top booking concern, and a sharp case that fragmented guest identity data, not AI tools, is hospitality's real technology gap. Accor and H World's loyalty cross-access deal and a heavy properties day rounded out the session.
Monday opens on a summer travel market that is shifting more than growing. Sojern data shows US outbound flight bookings up 13% while hotel searches fall 16%, with the World Cup redistributing demand across host cities rather than lifting it everywhere. Nearly 80% of Brits now plan UK staycations. The AI distribution thread hardens into a deadline, and IHG commits all six luxury brands to Saudi Arabia.
Area Sales Manager Aricia Oliveira of Pier House Resort and La Concha Key West argues that LGBTQ+ inclusion and authentic leadership must be year-round practices, not seasonal campaigns.
Friday closes the week on demand and value. World Cup and conference traffic pushed US hotel RevPAR up 9.7% for the week to 20 June, with San Francisco surging 80.5%. A Dutch survey finds three in four guests would rather pay less than get amenities they do not use. And the week's AI thread turns to measurement, with research warning most hotels stay invisible to AI and a third of AI answers about them are wrong.
Thursday brings the week's AI-distribution thread to a sharp point. OTA chiefs at Booking and Expedia are positioning to own the conversion layer of AI travel discovery, even as hotels fund the work that feeds it, and Lighthouse finds 82% of AI hotel recommendations already lean on OTAs and editorial media. Marriott signed for 10 hotels in Saudi Arabia, and WTTC turned its sustainability baseline into a certification.
Wednesday circles a familiar tension: travellers happily browse with AI but still book with brands they know. Adobe data shows AI-referred visitors engage longer yet convert 28% less, and 62% double-check on Google first. Marriott signed to build around 100 Series hotels in Greater China, while May trading held steady and resort openings stretched from Malaysia to Costa Rica.
Tuesday turns to how hotels get found and chosen. Ahrefs data shows AI can read hotel content well but recommends on earned presence, not structured data alone. A GBTA and Radisson survey sees AI use in hotel RFPs jumping from 32% to 69%. And a look at falling quit rates argues low turnover is hiding disengagement rather than signalling a healthy workforce.
Miramis CEO Stefano Cuoco outlines how the Swedish-Italian hospitality group integrates live entertainment, hyper-local cuisine, and a longevity wellness concept across properties in Tuscany and Stockholm.
Monday opens with the launch of the AI Hospitality Alliance, a neutral body set up to steer responsible AI adoption across five workstreams. Terence Ronson argues that falling AI costs move the edge from buying technology to managing it well. On the commercial side, BWH's free breakfast campaign earns £13.1 million, and Hyatt, Nobu and IHG all add to the pipeline.
Friday closed a strong week with a sharp warning that hotels carry legal liability for AI chatbot failures, an analysis showing hotels have ceded actual price-setting to autonomous revenue systems, and final attendance figures from HITEC 2026. Booking.com's €691 billion European economic impact, a Hyatt Studios financing program, and a deal-heavy properties day rounded out the week.
Thursday closed the HITEC week with a candid day-three recap from eight startup pitches and a closed-door CIO round table, a World Panel viewpoint on hospitality law finally catching up to human-centered values, and Q1 2026 labor data showing hotels cutting hours per occupied room while holding cost growth to 1.8%.
HITEC day three recap covers E20X startup pitches, candid booth conversations with Oracle, HotelKey, Revinate and Shiji, and a closed-door round table with hotel CIOs and senior supplier executives.
Wednesday closed HITEC 2026 with Marriott launching Ask Bonvoy, a conversational AI search tool for 283 million Bonvoy members, and a first-person recap of the conference finding deep industry consensus on AI's transformative role alongside equally deep disagreement on what it will cost. A sharp argument that WhatsApp is a liability for hotel operations and Revinate's Ivy AI platform launch rounded out a dense final session.
Zenzap CEO Guy Weiss argues that hospitality's reliance on WhatsApp for operations creates data loss, privacy, and security risks, and that purpose-built work communication can cut turnover by up to 50%.
A first-person recap of HITEC 2026's opening days finds consensus that AI will transform hospitality distribution and operations, but deep disagreement on costs, brand survival, and the role of human staff.
Tuesday brought the launch of the 2026 Hotel Yearbook at HITEC in San Antonio, hard data showing only 16% of hotels appear in AI-generated recommendations, and a World Panel viewpoint framing AI adoption as a direct threat to global hospitality employment. Oracle, Shiji, and RateGain all announced AI infrastructure expansions, and a bumper day of property openings stretched from Rwanda to Stockholm.
The 2026 Hotel Yearbook "AI Everywhere", launched at HITEC in San Antonio, compiles 40 expert articles, 26 AI solution snapshots, and a hospitality AI glossary into one publication.
Monday opened HITEC week with citizenM co-founder Michael Levie flipping the automation debate on its head, a wave of AI visibility and infrastructure launches from vendors arriving in San Antonio, and fresh data putting the wellness economy at $6.8 trillion. A commercial AI framework from HSMAI and a sharp argument that AI is a capability to build rather than a product to buy rounded out a dense content day.
citizenM co-founder Michael Levie argues hospitality's real problem is humans behaving like robots, and that automation should free staff for genuine human moments, not replace them.