In hospitality, knowledge is power—but only if it’s accessible. Too often, the people who need critical answers the most—the ones on the floor, in the kitchen, or starting a shift—are the least likely to find them quickly.
With expectations of limited revenue growth in 2025, U.S. hoteliers are focusing on all expense categories within their hotels. Early indications are that property operators are doing a commendable job managing the more controllable expenses within their operated departments, however, containing the undistributed department expenses is proving to be more of a challenge.
Should a hotel GM have to consult a legal advisor every time a vendor updates their cloud TOS? This isn’t a theoretical debate anymore; for hoteliers juggling international guests, loyalty programs, and global cloud systems, data sovereignty has become a frontline concern. And it’s reshaping how hotels choose their tech partners.
When a guest walks into your hotel, they expect a seamless experience. The check-in should be quick, their key should work instantly, and payments should just happen. None of that is possible without the right infrastructure – and most of the time, when it's working perfectly, no one notices it.
At HITEC Indianapolis, one of the most forward-thinking sessions tackled a topic set to redefine how the hospitality industry engages with its guests: Decentralized Identity, sometimes referred to as Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI). In a world where personalisation and data privacy increasingly go hand in hand, Decentralized Identity offers a radical new approach that empowers travellers to take control of their digital identities while enabling hotels, airlines, and travel providers to deliver seamless, secure, and highly personalised experiences.
As fireworks light up the sky and music pulses from rooftop lounges to poolside decks, July 4th in the U.S. has evolved into far more than just a celebration of independence, it’s a celebration of experiences. And powering many of the unforgettable moments this holiday weekend is technology purpose-built for experience commerce.
Hotel innovation is a people problem before it is a tech problem. Since HITEC, I’ve been reminiscing less about the tech I saw and more about the people I met. Yes, AI was everywhere, literally everywhere, predictive analytics, plenty of stuff some good - but not only. But the biggest takeaway wasn’t a product. It was this: success doesn’t come from the tech, it comes from the people.
Today’s travelers are no longer content with one-size-fits-all service. They seek authentic, personalized experiences tailored to their individual preferences—and are willing to pay for them. In fact, a 2024 study of nearly 1,800 hotel guests found that 61% were willing to spend more for a custom-tailored stay. For hoteliers, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity: How can hotels consistently deliver high-touch, individualized service at scale?
The hospitality industry has long revolved around the "Point of Sale" – the physical location where a transaction occurs. Whether it’s a front desk, a restaurant counter, or a retail shop, guests traditionally come to us. But in an era where guest expectations are soaring and convenience is king, simply waiting for the guest to come to our point of sale is no longer sufficient. We are rapidly shifting towards the "Point of Service Hospitality" – meeting the guest wherever they are, anticipating their needs, and serving them seamlessly.
Data silos are spoken about often in the hotel industry. Different systems for different functions – all doing their respective jobs. But what’s the harm? In a world where efficiency is paramount for commercial success and guests expect seamless, hyper-personalized experiences – an effective Find, Book and Grow strategy simply cannot co-exist with data silos.
For many hoteliers, this story will feel familiar: your legacy Property Management System (PMS) no longer meets the needs of your operation. Workflows are clunky, guest experiences inconsistent, and the thought of switching feels too costly or complex – so you stick with what you know.
Talk to any hotelier about the guest journey, and the same themes tend to emerge: personalisation, seamless booking, loyalty, guest experience. Technology is expected to enhance all these moments. But there’s one step that often gets overlooked and yet it underpins the entire guest relationship: identity verification.
The hotel industry is facing a powerful mix of opportunity and pressure. Hotel guest spending on travel and associated expenses is projected to hit a record $777 billion, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association. But costs are rising, staffing remains tight and many traditional revenue streams are feeling the squeeze. So what’s the smartest way forward?
Summer brings a welcome surge in travel, with millions of people booking hotels, redeeming loyalty rewards, and flocking to vacation destinations. But as transaction volumes rise, so do fraud risks and many hospitality brands find themselves unprepared for the scale, speed, and sophistication of these attacks.
Customer segmentation has been critical from day one for the modern hotel industry. More recently, with numerous data sets being merged due to technological advances, brands are starting to get quite granular with their KYC (know your customer) in terms of understanding where guests are coming from (channels and geography), why they are selecting your property (leisure, corporate, conference and so on) and what their buying (packages, upselling offers, onsite ancillary spend or others).
The recent PhocusWire article, “Hotels grapple with ‘secondary OTAs’ for pricing control,” highlights a growing concern in the hospitality industry: the rise of non-major OTAs and their impact on rate parity and revenue management.
Massive developments are happening in AI. Just this week the popular Hotel Tech Insider innovation newsletter covered a story about Hyatt laying off 30% of it's US Call Center staff and we're seeing major tectonic shifts like this across the industry each week but most hotels are only just beginning to explore its potential. In many cases, individual hoteliers and staff are experimenting with tools like ChatGPT for writing content or answering questions. Some hotels have added basic AI features into their operations – think of voice-activated assistants in rooms or simple text chatbots on their websites that answer guest FAQs. Others use AI behind the scenes for tasks like summarizing guest feedback or generating reports. These early uses are valuable, but they barely scratch the surface of what’s coming.
I’m quite sure that one day someone asked “So… where do we start with this computer thing?” The answer was: anywhere. Some people opened Lotus 1-2-3 some people did graphic design, some wrote a letter. The point wasn’t the starting point, it was the fact we’d started. Generative AI is the same seismic moment, only faster and louder, and the “where do I start?” needs to change to “what’s next”.
In this week’s episode of the Hotel Moment podcast, we’re revisiting a conversation with Robbert Manussen, Area General Manager, Taiwan at IHG Hotels & Resorts, and Karen Stephens, Revinate CMO. Robbert stresses that the technology revolution is here and explains why it’s time for hoteliers to start seriously investing in their tech tools. But Robbert says it’s about investing with intention, warning, “Don’t invest in technology for the sake of investing.” If you want to build a hotel tech stack that serves your business goals and serves the guest experience, it’s about choosing the right systems.
Cybersecurity probably isn’t high on your list of passions. But for any hotelier, it should be.