Over the past couple of years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has massively grown throughout the whole world. As technology keeps on evolving at a fast pace, AI is implemented into our daily lives in many ways.

In the hospitality industry, hoteliers are already striving for new methods of reaching out to customers, learning what they like and dislike, improving their experience during their stay, engaging them in order to earn their loyalty, and maintaining or improving their image. The main players in the hospitality industry are aware that innovations are key elements that will attract new customers, retain current customers and most importantly allow their business to stay ahead of the competition.

In this section, we featured in-depth interviews with the foremost business leaders in the hospitality industry around Asia, who share secrets to their knowledge and thoughts about AI.

David Scheckter

Southeast Asia & Pacific Chief Operations Officer of Karma Group

Describe Artificial Intelligence in 5 words?

Intelligent. Automated. Data-driven. Efficient. Personalized.

How might generative AI impact the travel and tourism industry?

Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize the travel and tourism industry in a number of ways. Customer Services AI Bots will help to answer repetitive questions and handle resort or destination enquiries. AI will help Karma Group as we manage over 65,000 members who have varied questions about membership, their vacation options, points entitlements and Visa & Travel requirements as we operate in over 15 countries. Guest experience is enhanced by tailor-making on the requests.

What are the consequences of using AI in the hospitality industry?

AI in the hospitality industry will help to improve efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction. We will be able to provide a faster, more accurate response to our customers for repetitive type questions, freeing up customer services staff to meet and greet the guests, and providing the World Class customer service and entertainment value that Karma Group is renowned for.

How does AI benefit the hospitality industry?

Improving efficiency: AI will automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, freeing up staff time for more important tasks, and being face-to-face with our members and guests.

Personalizing the customer experience: AI can be used to collect data about customer preferences and use this data to personalize the customer experience. AI will help us to enrich our customer data in the CRM.

Predicting demand: AI will be used to predict demand for hotel rooms, which will help us to optimize our pricing and staffing levels.

Improving safety: AI can be used to monitor security cameras and identify potential threats.

Some hotels are already piloting virtual assistants in their rooms to streamline customer communication. Any thoughts on that?

I think virtual assistants have the potential to revolutionize the way that guests interact with hotels. Virtual assistants can be used to answer questions, make reservations, control the room’s lights and temperature, hold seats at Karma Beach, and many more.

Virtual Assistants in our Member Services area will allow us to answer repetitive member questions and personalize member servicing: helping our members to choose destinations, use their entitlements, upgrade, and more.

Robert Ian Bonnick

Founder of Partnerships & Tourism Architect, Co-founder of The Funding and The Premiere AI For Business Conference

Describe Artificial Intelligence in 5 words?

Exciting. Opportunity. Personalization. Problem-Solving

How might generative AI impact the travel and tourism industry?

Opportunity for better-tailored experiences for customers and clients from streamlining operations, and automation of repetitive or boring tasks to improve efficiency and decision making. It puts greater power at the fingertips of customers and service providers.

What are the consequences of using AI in the hospitality industry?

Perhaps it’s best to divide this into upsides and potential downsides. Upsides include a powerful opportunity for personalization of the client experience in real-time. This occurs by understanding of preferences, interests, and behaviours to shape tailor-made experiences or outcomes. This can also free up time for staff to do more important work. Potential downsides may include a lack of that human touch in key areas, and a bias towards certain pathways of action based upon programming.

Consumer privacy and a lack of legal regulations/use of data. Efficiencies can also be linked to job losses – you simply won’t need so many staff which offers both an opportunity and potential downsides.

How does AI benefit the hospitality industry?

In short, I’ll divide it into two,

From the service provider’s point of view, profitability, efficiencies and greater economies of scale across the board, real-time effectiveness, lack of waste or a needless duplication of resources can all combine to a better customer journey and experience.

Customer facing point of view, a greater power to optimise and personalize your experience. To spend more time actually doing the experience you love and less time taken up with tedious tasks involved with generating that experience.

Some hotels are already piloting virtual assistants in their rooms to streamline customer communication. Any thoughts on that?

Virtual assistants, chatbots, and AI assistants are already well infiltrated into our lives – we have been using them without thinking on platforms such as Google, Bing, Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and so on.

They are being deployed by any forward-facing organisation, I think it’s inevitable to be used here. Personally, though I think we need to employ some restraint and understanding in its uses without greater governance.

Finally, I actually think it’s also familiar to pick up a phone and speak to humans when dealing with problems and challenges. It will be interesting to see how technology and humanity can work together to create a seamless experience in this area too.

Roy Liang

General Manager of Dao by Dorsett AMTD Singapore

Describe Artificial Intelligence in 3 words?

‘Efficient, Automation, and Guest experience’. Indeed, the hospitality industry has experienced a significant rise in the adoption and integration of AI. At Dao by Dorsett AMTD Singapore, we want to allow guests to ‘live your way, anywhere’ and thus, it’s essential that we incorporate AI into various aspects of hospitality.

How might generative AI impact the travel and tourism industry? 

We do see a trend in our guests craving more personalisation, as a majority of them want an experience that meets their expectations rather than worry about the cost. At Dao by Dorsett, it’s an integrated approach. We are a forward-thinking, hyper-local aparthotel that works well for all types of guests. Since opening our doors last July 2022, I have spearheaded several new initiatives at Dao by Dorsett AMTD Singapore, including a deeper integration into the local community, wellness-focused offers and a number of art and community tie-ups. While we enjoy the efficiency Generative AI brings, we pride ourselves on providing personalised guest experiences and maintaining a high level of customer service through human staff. We prioritise being warm, welcoming and attentive – from the driver who picks guests up to the service staff at our restaurants. 

What are the consequences of using AI in the hospitality industry?

We are starting to see some very interesting applications that facilitate day-to-day operations and allow for a fast workflow and better experience for our guests. When you mention consequences, I think of reliance on both fronts – guest and the property. AI introduces a level of dependency on technology. As a hotel, we need to strike a balance in terms of how and how much we leverage AI tools to elevate and enhance our services the moment guests come through our doors. To facilitate an efficient booking or guest enquiry experience, we have two chatbots that are currently in place: one placed on the property brand website while the other is the Virtual Concierge that only guests can access. 

How does AI benefit the hospitality industry?

AI can offer the hospitality industry infinite solutions; the last word will depend on the guests’ needs and interests. What sets Dao by Dorsett AMTD apart is that the hotel is all about personalising a guest’s stay according to the brand’s three attributes: Harmonious, Custom-Fit and Social. To this tune, the hotel has collaborated with several local partners to offer guests experiences not commonly found at other properties. We have also experienced significant benefits from the utilisation of AI in Dao’s Aparthotel Hybrid Model is a unique concept that combines the best of both hotel accommodation and the appeal of extended stays. It leverages tech advancements such as a mobile app, robot check-in and chatbots.

Some hotels are already piloting virtual assistants in their rooms to streamline customer communication. Any thoughts on that?

In today’s digital world, customers do expect hotels to leverage the use of such technology in providing top-of-the-line satisfaction and tech-driven guest experiences. When it comes to virtual assistants, however, some guests may prefer human interaction. At Dao by Dorsett AMTD Singapore, we prioritise providing a more personalised guest experience, which can be achieved through direct contact with staff members. However, this could be something we can potentially explore in the future. AI (tech) to me is not a replacement for human intelligence or social interaction but complements what we do. In such a fast-moving business as ours, flexibility is essential to succeed in day-to-day operations. We are confident that our prestigious hotel under the Dao brand will be taken to the next level and best serve our customers worldwide.

Varadaraja Jadhav

General Manager of the Radisson Blu Resort Bali Uluwatu

Describe Artificial Intelligence in 5 words?

“Technology that empowers our daily performance”

How might generative AI impact the travel and tourism industry?

It will certainly make us better at problem-solving, of course, more efficient in planning, while helping us to think more elaborately in terms of knowledge and learning guest needs. At Radisson Blu Resort Bali, Uluwatu we already adopted several Radisson Hotel Group productivity tools to enable us to manage our resources optimally, thus increasing productivity and delivering consistent guest service and satisfaction. We are also looking at other opportunities to implement further technology which would enable us to respond even more quickly to guest requests.

What are the consequences of using AI in the hospitality industry?

I personally believe that we should embrace technology as it can help unlock new levels of creativity among hospitality teams, provide valuable insights into customer behaviour and needs, and enable us to tailor and refine our services to suit the needs of our guests.

How does AI benefit the hospitality industry?

AI offers numerous benefits to the hospitality industry, and its positive impact becomes evident when we perceive it from a constructive standpoint. One of the notable advantages is the enhanced focus on attention to detail while serving guests. This can help streamline processes and free up staff time, allowing them to provide more personalized and attentive service to guests.

Some hotels are already piloting virtual assistants in their rooms to streamline customer communication. Any thoughts on that?

Most definitely, adopting new technologies can help hotels stay ahead of the curve, attract new customers, and retain existing ones while elevating the overall guest expectations from check-in to check-out. Requests from guests, such as additional water, amenities, or addressing engineering issues, can be handled more efficiently and promptly. This quick response time positively influences guest satisfaction and the overall experience of their stay.

Rafa Jimenez

Head Communications of Nuanu

Describe Artificial Intelligence in 5 words?

Simulation of human intelligence by machines.

How might generative AI impact the travel and tourism industry? 

Artificial intelligence is set to revolutionize the tourism industry with new guest experiences in the next ten years by providing more personalized and efficient services. Using personalization engines, automation of repetitive tasks, virtual assistants, etc. With the increasing use of AI in the hospitality industry, entrepreneurs who fail to embrace this technology will benefit from the benefits it can bring to their businesses.

What are the consequences of using AI in the hospitality industry?

Artificial intelligence is expected to change how we work and live, saving time and resources for professionals. Integrating AI will bring more efficiency and effectiveness, providing better service to customers in hospitality while supporting and developing employees to identify training needs, and track employee engagement.

How does AI benefit the hospitality industry?

For example, AI can optimize pricing and revenue management through data analysis and forecasting, giving businesses a competitive advantage in the market. AI can provide critical information about revenue management, marketing, operations, and sales.

Some hotels are already piloting virtual assistants in their rooms to streamline customer communication. Any thoughts on that?

Hoteliers who understand how to leverage AI tools to become more efficient and effective will become more valuable than ever. Hotel industry professionals are working to understand the latest trends in AI because new tools such as chatbots and virtual assistants will allow staff to interact with guests in real-time and provide personalized recommendations and assistance.

Made Karta

General Manager of Kayumanis Nusa Dua Private Villa and Spa

Describe Artificial Intelligence in 5 words?

“Advanced, Autonomous, Learning, Predictive, Adaptive.”

How might generative AI impact the travel and tourism industry?

Generative AI could profoundly impact the travel and tourism industry in several ways. For instance, it could create personalized itineraries and experiences based on a guest’s preferences, habits, and history, enhancing the customer experience and satisfaction. It could also be used to predict tourism trends and demands, enabling businesses to adapt their services and marketing strategies accordingly. Additionally, generative AI can be employed to automate and streamline operations, such as ticket booking, hotel reservation, and customer service, increasing efficiency and reducing costs.

What are the consequences of using AI in the hospitality industry?

The use of AI in the hospitality industry might have several consequences. Positive outcomes could include increased operational efficiency, improved customer satisfaction through personalization, and more effective use of data for decision-making. On the other hand, potential negative consequences could include job displacement due to automation, privacy concerns with the use of customer data, and the risk of over-reliance on technology, which could lead to vulnerabilities if there are technical issues or cyber-attacks.

How does AI benefit the hospitality industry?

AI can bring numerous benefits to the hospitality industry. It can enhance operational efficiency by automating tasks such as booking, check-in/check-out processes, and guests’ inquiries. It can also improve customer service by providing personalized recommendations based on guest preferences and behaviour. Moreover, AI can provide valuable insights from customer data to help businesses make more informed decisions. Lastly, AI can also enable 24/7 customer support through chatbots and virtual assistants, improving responsiveness to our guests needs.

Some hotels are already piloting virtual assistants in their rooms to streamline customer communication. Any thoughts on that?

The implementation of virtual assistants in hotel rooms to streamline customer communication is an exciting development. This kind of technology can offer guests a more personalized and convenient experience, as it allows them to easily request services, get answers to their questions, control room features (like lights, temperature, etc.), and even learn about local attractions. However, it’s crucial that these systems are designed and used in a way that respects guest privacy and security. It’s also important to maintain a balance and not lose the human touch that is often a key in hospitality services.