AIHA 2026 Member Survey Report
Executive Summary The AI Hospitality Alliance (AIHA) member survey shows a market that is highly interested in AI, but hungry for practical guidance. ... Respondents are not asking for abstract AI commentary.
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The Layer That Owns the Guest
Stack Layer What It Actually Is In A Hotel System of record PMS / CRS — deterministic, exact, the hotel's actual data. ... Oracle OPERA, Mews, Shiji, INFOR, Cloudbeds and similar remain the backbone; none is being replaced by AI in 2026.
By Terence Ronson, Founder & Managing Director, Pertlink Limited
Azuma Brand Launch Signals Larger Hotel Category Trends
For those that can’t escape for the farm life, guests in urban locations are nevertheless looking for some semblance of ‘noise reduction’ in their hotel stays This can be interpreted from the physical ... It’s about delivering a sense of calm and peace in order for guests to discover what’s really important in life.
By Adam Mogelonsky and Larry Mogelonsky
AI Referral Traffic to Hotel Websites Surged 50%+, Fake AI Infographics Are Distorting Hotel Tech Decisions, U.S. RevPAR Climbed 9.6% on World Cup Demand
AI Referral Traffic to Hotel Websites Surged More Than 50% Lighthouse data tracking the weeks immediately after ChatGPT expanded outbound links finds AI referral traffic to hotel websites rose more than ... Aparium Hotel Group's SVP of Brand and Marketing argues emotional reading of a room remains irreplaceable by AI.
Shiji's Natalie Kimball: hotels can't outspend OTAs on AI, but they can still win on experience
landscape : the hotel in the centre, and every company that touches its distribution arranged in rings around it, from PMS and booking tools out to AI discovery platforms, social channels, and map-based ... They did it with packages, hotel plus air, hotel plus car, so they'll do it with AI. They're smart, that's exactly what they do.
We need to talk about fake infographics
In my post I suggested that people at least put the disclaimer that it isn’t real research but AI outputs. Reading the comments I guess I am being too optimistic. ... AI works on probabilities. It predicts the most likely answer based on patterns in data. Reality requires a constant stream of judgement.
By Martin Soler, Partner, Soler & Associates
Keeping an authentic voice when AI can’t read the room
Tune in to learn how unique hotels maintain authenticity to complement AI and deliver a rich guest experience. ... are in Aparium Hotel Group?
Karen Stephens, Chief Marketing Officer, Revinate, Inc.
The numbers behind AI's rise as a booking channel for independent hotels
Key takeaways AI referral traffic to hotel websites grew more than 50% in just a few weeks, following a change in how ChatGPT includes outbound links in its responses. ... To benefit, two things need to be in place: your hotel needs to be visible in AI responses, and your website needs to convert that visit into a direct booking.
By Femke Nollet, Content Specialist, Lighthouse
What I Saw at HITEC 2026 That Nobody Else Is Talking About
One hotel group we work with were using the best-in-class systems across the board. ... Hotels need action not just insight. Human-in-the-loop AI is the right posture for this industry right now. Nobody wants a fully autonomous agent making rate decisions unsupervised.
Cendyn wants hotels to get ahead of "OTA 2.0"
Graham says this is exactly the gap a hotel can close now, because the things that make a property worth choosing don't fit in a Booking.com snippet, and AI search might finally reward a hotel for saying ... And it's measurable: a health score per prompt against the comp set, which turns "be visible in AI" from a slogan into something a marketer can actually work at.
Marriott Solved the Discovery Problem by Trading One Intermediary for Another, Middle East Tensions Put $600M Daily at Risk, Radisson Launches Real-Time AI Price Matching
Hilton Key West Resort & Marina debuted in the Florida Keys, and IHG unveiled a dual-branded EVEN Hotel and Staybridge Suites near Universal Orlando Resort . ... James' Court, a Taj Hotel, London unveiled a redesigned chapter in Westminster.
Psychological Well‑Being and the Future of Guest Experience
Key Developments in Experiential Hospitality 1. ... Human connection in that sense has become a differentiator.
By Valentina Clergue, Assistant Professor, EHL
How AI is transforming the hotel commercial engine: Group sales, revenue management, and unified strategy
Where should hotels start with AI in commercial operations? ... Can AI replace revenue managers at hotels? No. AI in hotel revenue management is designed to augment human decision-making, not replace it.
By Alan Young, VP, Strategy | Hospitality, Infor
Agilysys' Frank Pitsikalis: fix the data before you fix the AI
AI cost balloons quietly, he said, and a hotel that isn't watching can suddenly find it "spent half a million dollars on AI this year" without even knowing it was happening. ... In July they'll launch conversational reservations, an AI concierge a guest can call at three in the morning to book a room, a tee time, or dinner, and have it land as a live booking in the system.
Radisson Hotel Group launches hospitality industry-leading AI-powered real-time price matching technology
The new AI-powered feature automatically detects and matches lower third-party hotel rates in real time—eliminating manual claims, screenshots, and approval processes entirely, replacing the traditional ... Radisson Hotel Group has launched a leading AI-powered real-time hotel price matching technology, redefining how travelers book direct online.
Beyond The Gen Z Myth: Four Distinct Luxury Mindsets Reshaping Travel in Asia Pacific
Meanwhile, technology is playing an increasingly important role in trip planning, with 23% already using AI tools for travel inspiration and planning. ... out following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East in February 2026.
Marriott solved the discovery problem. It traded one intermediary for another
hotel directly inside Google's AI Mode. ... The booking happens right there in the AI answer, with Marriott on the receiving end. Capuano didn't pitch it as a feature. He pitched it as a reset.
By Markus Busch, Editor/Publisher, hospitality.today
The open vs closed ecosystem debate facing every hotelier
In the red corner, a hotel tech stack built from the best individual tools available. In the blue corner, a single, connected operating system courtesy of one vendor. Who are you supporting? ... "And the way to protect yourself from disruption by AI is leaning into AI. What it wants is proprietary data – data that is unique to your hotel business."
Trybe runs the parts of a hotel the PMS doesn't
in Trybe, a dinner table in the restaurant platform. ... It stays a specialist in spa, leisure and activities and goes deep there rather than spreading wide, then integrates two ways with whatever PMS the hotel runs.
The Guest Has a Companion Now
The Emotional AI Curve The most understated detail of the U1 launch may be the most important one for hospitality: its emotional AI model runs locally, and user data stays on the device rather than in ... As guests become accustomed to a privacy-respecting emotional AI at home, the bar for what they will tolerate from a cloud-dependent, data-harvesting hotel AI system rises correspondingly — and hospitality's
By Terence Ronson, Founder & Managing Director, Pertlink Limited