h2c Hotel Chain Tech Report 2026: The AI Opportunity
Real wins for guests, staff, and hotel operators.
h2c's 2026 global study finds AI is used at 91% of hotel chains, but only 28% have a senior-led strategy and just 13% report measurable ROI.
Photo by Cendyn™
AI is already part of everyday work at 91% of the hotel chains participating in h2c’s latest global study. But only 28% have a company-wide AI strategy led by senior leadership, and just 13% report measurable ROI so far.
The opportunity is growing. The challenge is turning individual tools and experiments into connected capabilities that deliver value for guests, staff, and hotel operators.
The Hotel Chain Tech Report, an extract of h2c’s AI Opportunity Study 2026: Real Wins for Guests, Staff, and Hotel Operators, explores selected findings on how hotel chains are using AI, what is holding them back, and where they expect the biggest changes next.
Inside the report, you’ll explore:
AI adoption and business impact: Where hotel chains are seeing benefits, and why measurable ROI remains limited.
The foundations for scaling AI: How skills, system integration, strategy, and data readiness shape implementation.
AI agents and emerging applications: The opportunities hotel chains see for staff productivity and guest interactions.
AI visibility and direct bookings: How hotels are approaching discovery, recommendations, and booking through AI platforms.
Guests are changing how they search. Are hotels keeping up?
According to h2c, 70% of respondents expect AI-driven booking channels to increase direct booking volume over the next one to two years. Yet only 22% of participating hotel chains systematically monitor their visibility in AI-generated search and recommendations.
For hotel marketers, that gap raises practical questions: how does your property appear in AI recommendations, can travelers access accurate information, and how easily can they move from discovery to booking?
Get a clearer view of the AI opportunity
Download the Hotel Chain Tech Report to explore selected research findings and inform your next conversations about AI strategy, technology investment, and commercial priorities.
Research source: h2c GmbH. The study draws on 122 responses from 113 unique hotel chains, representing more than 8,200 properties and approximately 1.3 million rooms worldwide. Cendyn is one of the sponsors of the study.
About Cendyn
Cendyn is a global hospitality cloud-based technology company that enables hotels to drive revenue, maximize profitability, and create deeper connections with guests through its integrated solutions. Serving hoteliers for nearly 30 years, Cendyn drives commercial success for hotels through its Find, Book, Grow promise: find the right guests, drive them to book direct, and grow loyalty and revenue across the spectrum of digital guest interactions.
Cendyn has over 35,000 customers worldwide in more than 150 countries generating more than $20 billion in annual hotel revenue. The company supports its growing customer base from locations across the globe, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Bangkok, and India. To find out more, visit cendyn.com