Artificial intelligence is everywhere, including in the travel and hospitality industries, as it can streamline operations, enhance customer service, improve efficiencies at many levels and help businesses achieve their bottom-line goals. At The Hospitality Show 2024 in San Antonio, a panel of experts discussed how the evolving world of AI is going to affect the future of travel as well as the global impact of this technology, both now and in the future. Matt Schwartz, chief technology officer, Sage Hospitality Group, led the panel, comprised of Liselotte de Maar, managing director, Accenture, and Jeff Thoman, senior RVP, hospitality at Salesforce, Inc.
The Role of AI and Its Impact in the Travel Industry
As it first appeared on the horizon in the 1970s, artificial intelligence is not a new concept, though it languished for years, with not much interest. Today, though, it is an exciting proposition for those in travel and hospitality, with potential applications in booking, planning, customer service and sales.
De Maar, whose company, Accenture, has invested $3 billion in generative AI, said that AI is on its third wave: the agents phase. “Some people will call this autonomous agents, but we think agents in general can be in two real main phases: assistive agents and autonomous agents. And so, this third wave, we really feel like is probably where work actually gets done in the in the AI world, which has never really been happening before,” he said. Thoman added that this wave of AI has the potential to streamline such basic tasks as folio requests, which he called “…simple, iterative tasks that we should really be able to really make more efficient in the industry.”
Thoman added that the questions to consider with AI investment is, “How do we bring not just generative AI, but the proper data, the proper actions and guardrails to an agent, and then also making sure that humans are in the loop when needed or assisted in some way?”
Like any evolving technology, there are both benefits and risks to using AI in travel. On the plus side, there is technology that can build out your complete itinerary, which could satisfy those who feel that it’s too complicated to navigate all the apps and websites, said de Maar. “Travelers are really looking to making that booking and planning process and the inspiration process more easy, more accessible, and they see the most value in that part,” she said, adding that executives appreciate the cost efficiency of AI tools.
Risks include lack of consumer trust and confidence, primarily because of the advent of fake reviews, which can negatively impact brand perception.
AI Innovations and Challenges
Thoman discussed what emerged from Dreamforce, the recent annual conference held by Salesforce and attended by 10,000 people. The company announced that it would be launching Agentforce, a platform that will integrate generative AI capabilities with existing data from within Salesforce or within other platforms.
Thoman said Salesforce was releasing new functionality into its cloud-based software three times a year, but because of the rapidly changing nature of AI, the company will release updates monthly.
“And the only reason it's monthly is because consumers couldn't consume it every two weeks. Otherwise, we would be releasing new functionality every two weeks into that capability, so that should tell you how fast and how much innovation is happening. A year's worth of innovation happens in a quarter now in that in that technology space, and so if you're not taking advantage of that, how do you catch up?”
Human Connection
As the hospitality industry is very people-centric, with guests expecting human connections, the panelists discussed how hotels can leverage AI without sacrificing that personal experience. de Maar pointed to examples where AI can enhance basic services like room service orders, while simultaneously making them more efficient and user-friendly. This also frees up employees to handle other tasks.
Thoman agreed, challenging the audience to find areas in the guest journey where there are low value tasks happening and ask themselves, “Could we replace that with an autonomous agent and provide better service at the same time?”
Outlook for AI
The panelists were enthusiastic about AI technology and the role it can play in travel and hospitality, from opening up possibilities for travel and for its ability to create a personalized experience as well as to create momentum for repeat travelers.