Not that long ago, the hospitality industry was held back by legacy technology. The “we’ve always done it this way” mentality was difficult to shift and gave far too many hoteliers and operators permission to avoid modernising their operations.
For a long time, the aversion to the logistical demands of transformation was our biggest bottleneck.
Look at us now.
Technology-driven transformation has taken root, and the appetite for it keeps growing. Industry conferences and trade shows are full of tools promising to streamline and automate every aspect of hospitality. Once monolithic systems now sit within expanding technology stacks, and the appetite for adoption has given artificial intelligence (AI) vendors a particularly receptive audience.
For operators managing staffing gaps and growing service demands, the appeal of AI is clear. Hospitality depends on people, and those people spend a substantial part of their day tracking down information, coordinating tasks, and answering routine questions. Automation has the potential to elevate the guest experience by reducing the operational busywork that has traditionally stolen staff attention away from the guests in front of them.
But before buying any new tool, you should know precisely what work that tool will support, who will use it, and what you expect it to improve. The technology’s purpose in your hotel should be defined before it is vetted and purchased.
Without that clarity, hotels risk adding another system for employees to learn and work around while the original problems remain unresolved.
“We want to use AI to improve the guest experience” leaves too much open to interpretation. “Our front desk spends too much time coordinating early check-in requests” gives you a problem to investigate.
Follow that request through the operation. A guest contacts the front desk. An employee checks availability, confirms whether housekeeping has released a room, and communicates the options. Depending on the property, that might involve the property management system (PMS), a phone call, a messaging platform, and a colleague who knows which rooms are nearly ready.
Where does the process slow down, and why? Does the employee lack information, or does housekeeping simply need more time to prepare the room?
Understanding the cause will help you judge whether AI could improve the process—and where.
Each problem calls for a different response, and understanding the cause will help you assess what AI could realistically improve.
An early arrival might involve a loyalty benefit, an accessibility requirement, a room change, or a promise made by the previous shift. Each can affect the options available to the guest and whether an employee needs a manager’s approval.
Before introducing AI, establish where that context lives. Some of it may be recorded in your systems. Some may sit in emails, shift notes, or the memory of an employee who has worked at the property for 15 years.
If a tool needs that knowledge to perform its role, you need a reliable way to make it available to that tool and, more importantly, to keep it current. You also need to define what happens when information is missing or contradictory. Otherwise, employees will spend their time checking the tool’s work and filling in the same gaps they manage today.
Those employees know where judgement is needed, which workarounds keep things moving, and whether another notification or dashboard would help. Bring them into the discussion while they can still influence the purchase.
For an early check-in request, for example, the front desk team might benefit most from having room status and relevant guest information gathered in one place.
Working through that scenario directly with staff helps establish what AI should handle, when a human needs to step in, and what improvement would look like during an actual shift.
For a long time, the aversion to the logistical demands of transformation was our biggest bottleneck.
Look at us now.
Technology-driven transformation has taken root, and the appetite for it keeps growing. Industry conferences and trade shows are full of tools promising to streamline and automate every aspect of hospitality. Once monolithic systems now sit within expanding technology stacks, and the appetite for adoption has given artificial intelligence (AI) vendors a particularly receptive audience.
For operators managing staffing gaps and growing service demands, the appeal of AI is clear. Hospitality depends on people, and those people spend a substantial part of their day tracking down information, coordinating tasks, and answering routine questions. Automation has the potential to elevate the guest experience by reducing the operational busywork that has traditionally stolen staff attention away from the guests in front of them.
But before buying any new tool, you should know precisely what work that tool will support, who will use it, and what you expect it to improve. The technology’s purpose in your hotel should be defined before it is vetted and purchased.
Without that clarity, hotels risk adding another system for employees to learn and work around while the original problems remain unresolved.
Start with the work
Before evaluating vendors, choose a workflow worth improving, and be specific.“We want to use AI to improve the guest experience” leaves too much open to interpretation. “Our front desk spends too much time coordinating early check-in requests” gives you a problem to investigate.
Follow that request through the operation. A guest contacts the front desk. An employee checks availability, confirms whether housekeeping has released a room, and communicates the options. Depending on the property, that might involve the property management system (PMS), a phone call, a messaging platform, and a colleague who knows which rooms are nearly ready.
Where does the process slow down, and why? Does the employee lack information, or does housekeeping simply need more time to prepare the room?
Understanding the cause will help you judge whether AI could improve the process—and where.
Each problem calls for a different response, and understanding the cause will help you assess what AI could realistically improve.
Understand the context behind the task
Hospitality is predictably unpredictable. During a busy shift, even a routine request can become complicated.An early arrival might involve a loyalty benefit, an accessibility requirement, a room change, or a promise made by the previous shift. Each can affect the options available to the guest and whether an employee needs a manager’s approval.
Before introducing AI, establish where that context lives. Some of it may be recorded in your systems. Some may sit in emails, shift notes, or the memory of an employee who has worked at the property for 15 years.
If a tool needs that knowledge to perform its role, you need a reliable way to make it available to that tool and, more importantly, to keep it current. You also need to define what happens when information is missing or contradictory. Otherwise, employees will spend their time checking the tool’s work and filling in the same gaps they manage today.
Design the role with the people doing the job
One of the biggest barriers to the effective adoption of new tools emerges before a tool ever reaches employees: leadership makes the purchase, then hands it to a team that had no say in choosing it.Those employees know where judgement is needed, which workarounds keep things moving, and whether another notification or dashboard would help. Bring them into the discussion while they can still influence the purchase.
For an early check-in request, for example, the front desk team might benefit most from having room status and relevant guest information gathered in one place.
Working through that scenario directly with staff helps establish what AI should handle, when a human needs to step in, and what improvement would look like during an actual shift.
Bring those requirements to the vendor
Once you understand how the work gets done and what your team needs, you’ll have a much better idea of what to look for in a platform. Ask vendors to demonstrate how their tools would handle situations your employees regularly face, including the ones that require a few extra calls or a manager’s help.
A few questions can help you assess whether the tool would be useful:
- Can it connect to the systems your team already uses?
- Can it find the information employees need to handle the request?
- What happens when information is missing or someone needs to make a judgement call?
- How much setup, training, and ongoing maintenance will your team be responsible for?
Then put those answers to the test with a small pilot. Have employees use the tool during actual shifts and ask whether it makes the job easier. Compare the results with what you set out to improve, and account for any extra work the tool creates.
Hotels have good reasons to invest in AI, and employees should be able to see the benefit during their shifts. But before signing a contract, make sure you can explain whose job the tool will make easier and how you’ll know it has.
Before you buy: Your AI adoption checklist
Before evaluating AI vendors, make sure your team can answer these questions:
- Workflow: Which specific process are we improving, where does it break down, and what would a better outcome look like?
- Context: Which systems support the process, where does the necessary knowledge live, and what exceptions must be accounted for?
- People: Who participates in this work, what do they need, and which decisions require their judgement?
- Technology: What must a tool be able to access and do to meet those needs, and how will we test whether it delivers?
Start with your hotel's operational needs, not the technology. Discover how Infor™ Hospitality can help your teams work more efficiently and deliver better guest experiences.
Alan Young
VP, Product Management for Infor Hospitality, Infor
A seasoned business and technology visionary, Alan Young is the VP of Product Management for Infor Hospitality. He is recognized for his provocative insight into how emerging technology impacts industries and how leaders can better connect with their customers and employees for sustained growth. Alan also sits on several hotel and travel technology advisory boards and is known for his ability to turn difficult concepts into easy-to-understand ideas that drive meaningful outcomes and actions. He is a respected thought-leader, battle-tested consultant, mentor, and sought-after keynote speaker on the topics of hotel technology, business strategy, growth, transformation, and innovation. Alan focuses on increasing business awareness and believes that everything hinges on the power of communication and effective storytelling.