Should hoteliers become AI experts?

By Tom Varsavsky, Chief Technology Officer at SiteMinder

Artificial intelligence (AI) is on every business leader’s mind at the moment, and this is no different in the hotels and tourism sectors. Research points to the potential productivity, financial and operational benefits of AI, and businesses across the world are trying to capitalise on this opportunity.

In Australia, though, there is a significant gap between what businesses want and whether they can reach their AI goals. While most are planning to spend more on AI, Australian businesses are less prepared to implement it than in previous years, and only a third have a clear strategy for deploying AI. This disconnect highlights the growing pressure Australian businesses are under to act, despite lacking the skills and resources to develop effective strategies that would help them make the most of the technology.

To address this gap, should hoteliers become AI experts—or is there another way?

Hoteliers can join the shift to AI without needing to lead it

Travellers are already using AI, whether hoteliers are ready for it or not. They’re asking AI platforms for tips on how to get around on foot in Rome, using AI tools to build itineraries based on the best satay chicken in Singapore, and asking online chatbots for translations as they order a tailor-made suit in Hong Kong. These are everyday examples of generative AI (GenAI) in action, and hoteliers should be aware this technology is already part of many travellers’ day-to-day lives.

However, leading the GenAI movement would not be the best use of resources or time for hoteliers. The bigger opportunity lies with predictive analytics—using AI to analyse large and diverse data sets to help hoteliers innovate, grow and meet customers where they’re at.

Making the most of predictive analytics requires hoteliers not just to use all the data at their fingertips but also to look externally for publicly available data that can reveal emerging trends and their potential impact on customers. This is one of the core reasons why hoteliers shouldn’t feel pressured to become AI pioneers on their own. Instead, they should seek to understand AI’s capabilities and partner with experts who can bring their ambitions to life.

The more data the better — if you can analyse it

Less than half of Australian businesses have a formal data strategy in place, even though two-thirds see their company as data-driven. For hoteliers, lacking a data strategy is a missed opportunity. In today’s AI era, customers will soon start to feel the difference when experiences aren’t streamlined or personalised. Developing a data strategy is critical to creating an AI strategy—but again, there’s no need for hoteliers to do it alone.

By combining a hotelier’s own data with anonymised data from tens of thousands of properties around the world, customer insights and business planning can be taken to another level. Global technology platforms can provide capabilities that would otherwise be out of reach for an individual hotel.

For example, a hotelier on their own might review past bookings to understand which months were busiest, which room types were most popular and which booking channels generated the most revenue. In contrast, a technology platform with predictive analytics and access to anonymised industry data could tell that same hotelier how to attract new guests during typically slow months, which perks and benefits competitors are using to boost bookings for less popular rooms, and which booking channels could open entirely new revenue streams.

This may sound futuristic, but these capabilities are being delivered today thanks to AI. It’s an exciting time to be a hotelier, with the technology still in its early days of adoption in Australia. Those who act early will unlock revenue opportunities faster and more efficiently than competitors.

Acting early, however, doesn’t mean resourcing, upskilling and implementing every aspect of AI yourself. Hoteliers are already embracing digital-first customer service by partnering with technology experts—continuing this approach as AI evolves will be critical to making the most of the technology without over-investing in a completely new field.

About the author

Tom Varsavsky has over 25 years’ experience in building technology, data and product businesses, with expertise in web-scale systems, cloud architectures, progressive software engineering practices, data and artificial intelligence. Ranked among Australia’s top 50 CIOs in 2018 and 2019, he has led major transformation programs to embed product-centric, agile ways of working that focus on iterative delivery and measurable customer outcomes.

Tom is passionate about building high-performing engineering teams that use the best technology and practices to achieve business results. At SiteMinder, he leads the global engineering team, ensuring it has the scale, leadership and advanced technology skills to deliver the company’s disruptive products and solutions.

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