A luxury hotel GM with 20+ years of experience argues AI amplifies rather than replaces hospitality professionals, citing Hilton's AI Planner, Be My Eyes partnership, and operational forecasting as real-world examples.
The author argues that HITEC 2026 overlooked a key market gap: back-office AI that reduces overhead and drives margins, while vendors focused almost entirely on guest-facing tools.
Reflections from HITEC 2026 show hoteliers are not seeking more technology but simpler, better-connected systems backed by partners who reduce complexity and stay engaged post-implementation.
A HITEC 2026 recap identifies agentic governance, Agent Management Platforms, and Guest Success Management Systems as the defining trends, with AI shifting from point tools to enterprise-wide orchestrated workflows.
GratifID will host a pre-HITEC 2026 webinar on June 10 for hotel tech consultants, covering NFC vs. QR-based digital tipping platforms ahead of its TIPMO product launch in San Antonio.
As the 2026 tradeshow season opens, the article argues that hotel technology must be evaluated on how well it supports frontline staff, with multilingual interfaces, mobile-first workflows, and vendor partnership as key criteria.
NFC-based tipping systems that bypass app downloads and PMS integration could resolve the cash-tip gap affecting frontline retention, with 2026 seen as the inflection point for mass adoption.
By 2026, AI-native distribution systems that autonomously decide pricing and channel strategy will become essential infrastructure, directly impacting hotel asset valuations and cash flow predictability.
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.
A recent lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California alleges that Accor Management US Inc., the parent company of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, violated California’s privacy laws by improperly sharing users’ browsing and booking information with social media platforms without user consent. This data sharing is said to have enhanced the algorithms and ad targeting abilities of these platforms.
The annual NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, now in its 46th year, offers a deep dive into the current and future state of the hospitality industry. This year, I had the privilege of leading a CEO panel discussion on "Innovative hospitality concepts, new spaces for expansion."
Just as the hospitality industry evolves, so too must the format of its conventions, especially one as influential to the hospitality industry as HITEC. This year, the senior team at HFTP has expanded the tradeshow’s depth and impact with the inaugural HITEC Technology Investment Conference, taking place immediately after the main event on Thursday, June 27 and Friday, June 29. While it’s been in the making for a long time, we couldn’t have hoped for a better year to debut this addition.
Hotel luxury is a moving target. Of course, the visibility of design trends makes decade-over-decade changes in décor and furnishing relatively easy to call attention to as the engine of this continuous evolution. But let us not forget the underlying ‘invisibility’ that powerful technologies play in reinforcing the five-star hotel experience.
The hospitality industry has suffered major labor shortages, as of earlier this year, over 2 million hospitality jobs were open and job reports show little change since.
In Frederik Backman’s New York Times best-selling book, “A Man Called Ove”, the first chapter is aptly titled, “A man called Ove buys a computer that is not a computer.” In those first few pages, readers are introduced to fifty-nine-year-old Ove, a decidedly grumpy and impatient man who ventures into a tech store on a mission to buy a computer. He mistakenly asks the young sales associate for an ‘O-Pad’. The exchange only becomes more strained as Ove repeatedly asks the associate if the tablet is a good computer, and the associate explains that while it’s a good piece of technology, it depends on what type of computer he wants. As you can imagine, Ove’s frustration soon peaks when the associate attempts to explain that a keyboard was sold separately and then tries to direct him to a MacBook (which Ove endearingly calls a ‘McBook’) instead.
If I were asked to compile a list of the most prominent figures currently influencing the trajectory of the independent lodging industry, Andrew Benioff, the Founder and Chairman of the Independent Lodging Congress would undoubtedly be included. As a tenured hospitality professional, I’ve been given the opportunity to connect with countless thought leaders in the space – many of whom exhibit a seemingly unquenchable appetite for innovation and growth – and Benioff is no exception.
Ask ten people what traveling the US looks like to them, and you’ll no doubt get ten different answers. It’s hiking in Yosemite, route 66 in a Cadillac, sundrenched Florida, pizza in NYC, and much, much more. It’s the boundless options that make the US one of the world’s top tourist destinations.
Suppose I asked you to conjure up an image of a ‘tech hub.’ In that case, I imagine your mind might place you in the streets of Silicon Valley, rife with sprawling university-like tech campuses and unicorn start-ups causing a stir amongst technologists, investors, and consumers. Perhaps, your mind may jump to other global leaders in tech, such as London, UK, Beijing, New York City, or even Tel Aviv – but would Canada make that list? It certainly should.
The hospitality industry has been engulfed in whispers of a technological overhaul for years. We were told that the sea of legacy platforms that essentially ruled the hospitality landscape would finally be abandoned for modern alternatives. But with each passing year, promises of widespread digital innovation were quietly broken, as countless hospitality brands held on to their original, legacy systems long past their expiration date.
Do you ever wonder how Netflix or Amazon find the perfect content or products for you when you log on? These industry leaders have cracked the code to keep customers coming back through data-driven personalization—using unique customer insights to recommend the ideal products or shows that are perfect for them.