Technology Opinion Articles - Hospitality Net

Advertisement

Opinion Article

September 2, 2025

How hoteliers can create connections that drive revenue in an AI-driven world

Thanks to GenAI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini, building a travel itinerary is easier than ever. Rather than spending hours on research, a potential traveler can type in a few prompts, say, planning an Italian vacation focused on the best restaurants in a specific region, and seconds later, receive a complete itinerary. Is it perfect? No, but it provides a unique informed place to start. GenAI certainly saves time, which is why 80% of consumers using airline, hotel, and travel platforms are leveraging AI tools.

By Noreen Henry, Chief Revenue Officer, Sojern, HSMAI Foundation Board Member, Sojern

Opinion Article

September 1, 2025

The “Wow” Factor: How Humanoid AI Agents Are Redefining the Smart Hotel Experience

The global hospitality industry is undergoing significant change. In recent years, humanoid AI agents have evolved from futuristic novelties to key players within the world’s most advanced hotels. In 2025, competition for guest loyalty, operational efficiency, and brand differentiation is fiercer than ever. In this environment, AI‑powered agents offer a way not just to impress guests, but to fundamentally reshape how hotels operate and connect with their visitors.

By Filip Linek, Founder, FLAE Robotics

Opinion Article

August 29, 2025

What if Alvin Toffler Ran a Hotel?

In his groundbreaking book, The Third Wave, Alvin Toffler painted a vivid portrait of a world in metamorphosis—a civilization shedding the rigidity of industrialism to embrace the fluid, fast-paced rhythm of the Information Age. He envisioned a society no longer defined by smokestacks and assembly lines, but by hyper-communication, data streams, decentralized power, and the rise of the prosumer—individuals who both produce and consume.

By Bonnie Knutson, Professor in The School of Hospitality Business in the Broad College of Business, Michigan State

Opinion Article

August 26, 2025

What Visual Matrix is Learning From You – Lessons From the Road

There’s something grounding about walking in a hotel’s back hallways and hearing real stories, in real time, from real hoteliers. Lately, we’ve been doing just that: sitting in lobbies, behind front desk counters, joining team huddles, and absorbing what’s working (and what’s not) from the people who live hospitality every day.

By Lauren Crocket and Patty Jefferson

Opinion Article

August 25, 2025

Reframing Data Security and Sovereignty as a Hotel Team and Guest Benefit

All it takes is one breach. Cybersecurity represents a clear and present threat for every hotel, and the topic deserves every kilobyte of attention that it gets. But this topic, and the related one of ‘Data Sovereignty’ are often framed as defensive, trepidation-filled subject matters where hotels must act now…or else…

By Adam Mogelonsky, Partner, Hotel Mogel Consulting Limited

Opinion Article

August 25, 2025

AI-Powered Booking and Concierge Systems: A Strategic Lifeline for Independent Hotels

Independent and boutique hotels in the U.S. face unprecedented challenges. Labor shortages continue to strain daily operations, with over 60% of hotels reporting difficulties in filling staff positions. At the same time, reliance on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) cuts deeply into profitability, with commissions averaging 20–30% of gross bookings. For small operators, these dual pressures create an unsustainable environment.

By Alexia Abreu, Founder of Lumara, Lumara Smart Hospitality

Opinion Article

August 22, 2025

Nine AI-fuelled business models that leaders can’t ignore

AI isn’t just improving corporate productivity and efficiency. It’s poised to reshape how value is defined, delivered and captured with its ability to create content, ideas and logic, and solve problems autonomously. The result: new AI-fuelled business models are challenging long-standing business assumptions and further blurring industry boundaries, contributing to massive new value pools and growth opportunities that will emerge over the next decade and beyond.

By Paul Blase and Matthew Duffey

Ad #1 Hotel PMS

See why hotels are switching to Mews

Revenue up. Manual work down. Hotels using Mews see 35% higher RevPAR and 45% more upsells. Book a free demo.

Visit HITEC 2026 in San Antonio!

HITEC is the center for the latest conversations on hospitality technology. Come and see the technology shaping the industry.

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP)

Opinion Article

August 21, 2025

Model Context Protocol (MCP): The Hidden Risks Hoteliers Must Uncover Before Embracing AI’s Latest Integration Standard

Our industry is entering a phase where AI is no longer just powering chatbots or enabling precise revenue forecasts—it’s beginning to connect directly to core operational systems.

By Alan Young, VP, Strategy | Hospitality, Infor

Opinion Article

August 21, 2025

Why the New, Transformational Solution for The Hospitality Industry is a ‘UCXM’

Imagine a world in which hospitality experiences are streamlined. When someone books a hotel, restaurant reservation, or event package, their preferences are known. The process is lightning fast. Their history - showing which experiences satisfied them, which disappointed them, and why - helps a human or AI agent automatically offer them extras, successfully upselling. And the customer experience (CX) is so enjoyable that they develop loyalty to the brand.

By Tomas Gorny, Co-Founder and CEO, Nextiva

Opinion Article

August 19, 2025

Hotel Passport Scans on the Dark Web? Why the Garante’s Alert Matters—and How Hotels Reduce Risk

The Italian data protection authority (Garante) recently warned that several hotel IT systems were breached and high-resolution scans of passports and ID cards were stolen. Even when properties act quickly, these incidents highlight a structural problem in hospitality: front desks routinely create and store copies of the most sensitive identifiers a person has. Have you ever checked in and wondered why do we need to share our passport and put it on file indefinitely? This makes hotels prime targets for cyber-attacks and privacy risks.

By Richart Ruddie, Founder, Captain Compliance

Opinion Article

August 15, 2025

The Changing Influences on New Product Development in Hospitality

It seems like generations ago when “Globalization” with a capital “G”, was the watchword of corporate America, and of the largest companies and consumer brands in the world. Enabling technologies such as laptop computers, the internet, and the privatization of communications infrastructure in the 1980s made it feasible to move production and delivery of goods and services closer to their end user consumers. The expansion of free trade encouraged optimizing production cost by locating each stage of a product’s value chain wherever competitive advantage dictated.

By Andrew Cohan, Managing Director - Miami, Majestic Hospitality

Visit HITEC 2026 in San Antonio!

HITEC is the center for the latest conversations on hospitality technology. Come and see the technology shaping the industry.

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP)

Opinion Article

August 15, 2025

The Real Power of a Centralized, Real-Time Guest Profile

As part of our Thematics campaign with Shiji Group on Single Provider for Seamless Data, this article looks at one of the most transformative ideas in hotel technology today: the centralized, real-time guest profile. Integrated systems hold the promise of unlocking new guest experiences and streamlining operations, but the real challenge lies in turning that promise into everyday reality.

By Henri Roelings, Founder, Hospitality Net

Opinion Article

August 14, 2025

5 Ways AI Will Rewrite the Hospitality Playbook

Back when I lived in London, I was friends with the Head Butler at the Savoy. He was incredible – the level of hospitality he delivered was mindblowing. He could book impossible dinner reservations, ensure a room was set up just how the guest preferred, and so much more.

By Kate Fairweather, Head of Consumer Strategy and a founding Partner, Electric Innovation

Opinion Article

August 14, 2025

Why human-led hospitality still wins in a tech-driven world

There’s an old proverb that says if a stranger shows up at your door, feed them for three days before you ask who they are, where they’re from and where they’re going. And that's a perfect illustration of true hospitality.

By Tom Brown, Principal Copywriter, Mews

Opinion Article

August 12, 2025

The four leading AI chatbots for hotels

One of the biggest changes in guest behavior is the expectation around hotel communication. In an always-on digital world, travelers expect to be able to message properties at any time of day, and to get considered responses quickly and in their own language.

By Tom Brown, Principal Copywriter, Mews

Opinion Article

August 8, 2025

How to Disrupt Your Hotel Market with AI and Blue Ocean Strategies

Imagine this: two hotels side by side. Both boast rooftop pools, chic lobbies, and decent coffee. Yet one is bleeding profits while the other thrives, not by doing more—but by doing different. The latter doesn’t compete on price or amenities; it sails in its own Blue Ocean, where competition becomes irrelevant.

By Are Morch, Digital Transformation Coach for Hotels, Are Morch, Digital Transformation Coach

Opinion Article

August 7, 2025

From Patchwork to Platform: The Case for Unified Hotel Systems

It usually starts with a simple fix. One team wants better upsell options, so a new CRM is added. Another needs richer analytics, so in comes a reporting tool. The spa needs its own booking interface. The restaurant team demands a POS that talks to the kitchen the way they like. All good intentions.

By Michael Heinze, Chief Architect, Shiji

Opinion Article

August 6, 2025

When Technology Undermines Hospitality

In the summer of 2025, traveling on business, I checked into a U.S. boutique hotel that promised cutting-edge hospitality: a 100% automated operation. No front desk, no humans—just email confirmations, entry codes, text messages, and chatbots. What could possibly go wrong?

By Mandy Murry, Principal & Chief Experience Officer, Cayuga Hospitality Consultants

Opinion Article

August 5, 2025

Getting Technical with What a Centralized Hotel Platform Can Enable

Those who know me know that I relish in the technical details of how specific features on software systems work, how integrations are built and how relational databases can be linked to integrate fields or perform valuable queries.

By Adam Mogelonsky, Partner, Hotel Mogel Consulting Limited

Opinion Article

July 28, 2025

The Secret AI Agent Revolution: How Hotels Are Unlocking $500K+ Annual Revenue Through Invisible Intelligence

What if I told you that while you're reading this, a handful of hotels worldwide are secretly deploying AI agents so advanced they're generating additional revenue streams that didn't exist 12 months ago? What if these same hotels are using technology so sophisticated it makes Siri look like a calculator?

By Are Morch, Digital Transformation Coach for Hotels, Are Morch, Digital Transformation Coach