During our coverage of the Mews Unfold 2024 event in Amsterdam, we covered the Unfold Awards and interviewed the winners, but we want to tell you more. In addition to the interviews, we posed some key questions to the speakers and attendees.
In your opinion, what is the biggest technology trend that will shape the future of the hospitality industry and why?
Their answers were enlightening and inspiring, offering a glimpse into the future of our industry. We’ve compiled the answers into a video clip that you can watch below.
Insights from Industry Leaders
Our questions elicited a variety of perspectives, reflecting the dynamic and rapidly evolving nature of hospitality technology. Key trends identified by industry experts include:
1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI is frequently cited as a game-changer for the industry. Highest Season CEO David Kijlstra highlighted AI’s role in empowering less-trained employees to perform complex tasks such as revenue management. Similarly, FLYR Chief Advisor Andrew Rubinacci highlighted the seamless integration of AI into daily operations to improve guest experience through sophisticated recommendation engines.
2. Data Mastery and Personalization
Data emerged as a foundational element for future progress. Sven Ephithite, Director Autosystems at Strawberry, highlighted the importance of master data for making better decisions. Daan de Bruijn, Co-Founder at Bookboost, highlighted the power of centralized data to meet travellers’ demand for unique, tailored stays and personalise guest experiences at scale.
3. Trusted and safe
Fiona McDonnell, vice president of global partner services at Booking.com, stressed the importance of leveraging technologies such as AI to increase trust and safety. Dylan Cole, managing director at Revinate, also noted that the hospitality industry is vulnerable to cyber threats, and ensuring data security and building guest trust are essential to business success.
Four. Human-Centred Technology
Humanizing hospitality through technology was another key theme, with MIT’s Dr. R. David Edelman and Laura Nolte, VP of Brand Marketing & Communications at Sircle Collection, emphasizing the importance of technology allowing staff to focus on building authentic relationships and enriching the guest experience.
Five. Sustainability and efficiency
Sustainability continues to be a key trend, with an emphasis on technologies that reduce environmental impact and increase operational efficiency. Innovations in energy management and waste reduction are key for environmentally conscious travelers and hoteliers alike.
6. Flexible and adaptable technology
Guilain Denisselle, founder and editor-in-chief of TendanceHotellerie.fr, pointed to a shift towards using customers’ preferred communication channels, such as WhatsApp or SMS, rather than forcing guests to use hotel-specific apps. This flexibility in the use of technology is essential to meet guests’ needs.
7. Empower your staff with automation
Wouter Vermeulen, CTO at Holoconnects, explained technology trends that make it easier for hotels to operate unmanned or with minimal staff: The integration of automation and AI is key to maintaining service quality with fewer staff.
Fiona McDonnell, VP Global Partner Services – Booking.com
Sven Efitite, Director of Auto Systems – Strawberry
Daan de Bruijn, Co-Founder – Bookboost
David Kylstra, CEO – Highest Season
Dylan Cole, Managing Director – Revinate
Joan Dreyfus, Head of Hospitality – Deloitte
Laura Nolte, VP of Brand Marketing & Communications – Sircle Collection
Dr. R. David Edelman, Founder and Director of the MIT Project on Technology, the Economy, and National Security; Former White House Technology Advisor
Andrew Rubinacci, Chief Advisor – FLYR
Fausto Vieira da Silva, Strategic Partnerships Leader – PriceLabs
Josef Starychfojtu, CPTO – Mews
Wouter Vermeulen, CTO – Holoconnects
Gilles Deniselle, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, TendanceHotellerie.fr
Fiona McDonnell, Vice President, Global Partner Services, Booking.com: “My view on the trends that will shape the future of the hospitality industry is how we leverage technology, including AI, to increase trust and safety, which is fundamental and will really drive business value.”
Sven Ephithite, Director of Autosystems at Strawberry: “I think master data is one of the most important things because it gives you insight and the basis for better decision-making.”
Daan de Bruijn, Co-Founder, Bookboost: “We live in a world of opportunity right now. I think this is a great question: what’s going to be mainstream in the hospitality industry and why? I think the most important trend right now is personalizing the experience. Travelers want interesting experiences, and if you can personalize and customize at scale by centralizing the data, that’s going to be an amazing thing.”
David Kijlstra, CEO of Highest Season: “It may seem obvious, but AI is going to be the answer. The reason why is a little less clear. I visited Indonesia last year and it was amazing to see how AI has suddenly enabled untrained employees to work as real receptionists or customer service employees. They can do a bit of revenue management with very little experience. So AI is really helping them get better educated and earn higher salaries. So I really believe this technology is going to have a really big impact, especially in second and third world countries.”
Dylan Cole, Managing Director at Revinate: “What I found really interesting today was that in one of the presentations it was stated that the hospitality industry is one of the top five sectors most attractive to hackers. I think that in the hospitality industry, it takes for granted that we care about the guest and their experience, but often hoteliers don’t have the time or bandwidth to think about protecting their guest’s data and ensuring it’s secure. When researching new technology, hoteliers need to really consider how long the company has been around, how secure their data is, and how secure their guest’s information is to ensure their brand is trusted and their property isn’t vulnerable to a data breach.”
Joan Dreyfus, Head of Hospitality, Deloitte: “So if you ask me what’s the biggest change going forward, I would say it’s people. It’s people and how they change to use technology. So I’m not going to talk about types of technology. I’m going to talk about people. To me, that’s the most important thing.”
Laura Nolte, VP of Brand Marketing & Communications, Circle Collection: “The biggest trend in technology is to empower people through automation, allowing them to focus on what’s intuitive and truly personal, and bringing the soul back to the industry. This way, people can make true connections rather than being tied down with a lot of mundane tasks, which is the most memorable part of any great hospitality journey.”
Dr. R. David Edelman, founder and director of the MIT Project on Technology, the Economy, and National Security and former White House Technology Advisor: “The biggest technology trend that will shape the future of the hospitality industry is probably not so much technical. In fact, I think it’s about the humanization of the hospitality experience through technology. What I mean is that we are increasingly living in a world where hoteliers and providers are looking for technology-mediated experiences, experiences where technology replaces many of the human functions. But customers are looking for something different – they are looking for experiences that are more human, more personal, more tailored to them. Therefore, the best technologies that will transform the industry are technologies that cater to human desires – technologies that are intangible, that are an extension of the hospitality experience, that get to know the customer and anticipate their needs without it feeling too technical.”
Andrew Rubinacci, Chief Advisor, FLYR: “The biggest technology trend in hospitality is, of course, AI. But it’s a question of how you use it. AI is permeating everything and at some point it becomes part of what’s going on. Amazon and Netflix’s recommendation engines are AI-based, but no one calls it AI. So this kind of technology, as it gains acceptance from consumers, will eventually become part of the guest’s overall experience. It’s AI, but it’s non-intrusive AI.”
Fausto Vieira da Silva, Head of Strategic Partnerships, PriceLabs: “I think the main trend will be how to implement AI and new technologies while still maintaining the hyperlocal element, which is what really makes a difference and what people want. If everyone starts implementing the same technology and processes, everything will be the same and you’ll lose the unique experience that people are looking for.”
Josef Starychfojtu, CPTO, Mews: “There are a few trends, it’s hard to pick just one. Clearly, AI is a big change that will shape not just the future of hospitality, but the future of the world. Everyone is using ChatGPT and similar technologies to shape guest behavior. But really, we will see more people adopting self-service solutions and technologies that help them focus on the core of hospitality: human interaction. Technology will allow us to focus more on this, as repetitive tasks are streamlined by AI. In a way, I hope we will see less technology in hospitality and more engagement with people and communities.”
Wouter Vermeulen, CTO at Holoconnects: “I think the biggest technology trend in the hospitality industry is technology that supports unmanned hotels or hotels with fewer staff. Technology like our hologram solution, or integrating AI with systems like Mews, will allow them to provide the same level of service with fewer staff.”
Guilain Denisselle, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of TendanceHotellerie.fr: “Hotels have encouraged their customers to use technology in their own way. But now we are seeing a shift where hotels are trying to use the channels their customers prefer. If they use WhatsApp, we will use WhatsApp. If they prefer SMS, we will use SMS. We need to talk to our customers using the tools they prefer, rather than forcing them to use our tools. We are seeing this trend more and more.”
