Nearly all hoteliers use AI, but they're drawing lines on where humans belong
Ninety-eight percent of hoteliers deployed artificial intelligence across their operations between December 2025 and March 2026, according to a survey from Mews, a hospitality software platform. Yet widespread adoption hasn't meant AI everywhere-59% of hoteliers say the front desk and check-in should remain human-led.
The finding suggests a maturing view of the technology. Hoteliers who use AI extensively are more likely to believe certain guest interactions require human contact, not less.
Where comfort with automation is highest and lowest
Mews mapped 19 common hotel tasks across usage rates and comfort with full automation. The results show clear patterns.
Tasks with low usage but high comfort with full automation include maintenance scheduling, labor scheduling and payroll, and software coding. Hotels see these as safe automation targets.
Tasks with high usage but low comfort with automation tell a different story: translation, price optimization, data analysis, email writing, content production, and review management. These customer-facing or revenue-critical functions remain in human hands at most properties.
Revenue, not just efficiency, is driving AI investment
Priorities have shifted. Earlier AI adoption focused on cutting costs and improving efficiency. Now, among the most AI-proficient properties, 52% want AI to support revenue growth first.
Wouter Geerts, director of market research at Mews, said comfort with AI increases with experience. "That is not resistance to AI," Geerts said. "It is a mature understanding of what it is for."
Trust depends on formal policy
Eighty-three percent of hoteliers trust AI to support decision-making. But governance lags adoption: 41% have no formal AI policy in place.
The gap matters. Properties with formal AI policies report 92% trust in the tools. Those without policies report 49% trust.
Ira Vouk, a hospitality technology expert, recently formed the AI Hospitality Alliance to help hotels establish formal AI guidelines.
How major chains are moving forward
Major hospitality operators are testing AI across their systems. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts launched a native ChatGPT app. Choice Hotels International partnered with AWS on an enterprise-wide deployment. IHG Hotels & Resorts, Hilton, and Marriott International announced new AI tools during first-quarter earnings calls.
For AI for Customer Support professionals, the hotel industry's approach offers a lesson: adoption and skepticism aren't opposites. They coexist in mature implementations.
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