SAN ANTONIO - Artificial intelligence will democratize hotel distribution, putting more power in the hands of guests and pressuring brands to refocus on the actual on-property experience, according to technology leaders speaking at the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals' HITEC event on June 26, 2026.
Floor Bleeker, consultant at In2 Consulting and former chief technology officer at Accor, said that brands have long relied on their distribution networks to attract hotel owners. "One of the main reasons why a hotel signs up is because of distribution loyalty that they have," he said. "If AI somehow replaces that distribution... then you don't need the brand anywhere in between. It democratizes distribution, so the brand loses one of its unique selling points."
Bleeker argued that brands must respond by delivering more tangible value inside the hotel. "They have to go inside the hotel again and provide amazing guest experiences and provide an amazing, efficient operations in order to win the contract from owners," he said. Keryn McNamara, chief information officer of Aimbridge Hospitality, predicted loyalty programs will survive but must evolve, with AI reshaping the guest journey directly.
Guest experience moves to the center
McNamara described AI's impact on guests in terms of friction reduction and personalization. "When I think about how [AI is] going to affect a guest, I think of 'frictionless' and 'customized experience,'" she said. "We're taking out the middle man. We're putting our guests just closer to what they actually want."
Lennert de Jong, CEO of Another Star, said the industry has neglected the guest experience for years. "One of the things that I'm not proud of is that in all these 25 years, we've barely been able to move the needle when it comes to guest experience, and especially [in the] last 10 years," he said. He expects AI to force a long-overdue shift back to hospitality fundamentals, though the timing remains uncertain.
Scott Strickland, chief commercial officer of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, views AI as an emerging booking channel. He said guests currently use generative AI to research options but switch to direct booking if they are loyalty members. In the near future, AI agents will recognize loyalty profiles automatically. Strickland added that the industry is six to 12 months away from early adopters having voice conversations with AI agents to complete reservations. "As a brand, we've been leaning into those apps, ... because we need to iterate quickly and understand where that conversation is going, so we can be part of it and try to shape it," he said.
Cost pressure fuels back-office AI
Low margins are pushing hotel operators toward AI faster than in the past. "Margins have never been as low as they are today in many places in the world, so there's a huge, huge pressure on saving costs that may not have been there in the past, and I think that will drive a lot of innovation in the back office," Bleeker said. At Aimbridge, McNamara's team uses AI to build labor productivity tools and improve forecast accuracy. "We aren't yet at that place where it's taking away full-time associates, but it's giving them hours back to use their days differently, and to use the information that we're providing to make better business decisions that we weren't able to previously do," she said.
The panelists agreed that job roles will change, not vanish. Strickland said companies must give digital-native employees AI tools within clear guardrails, though the current "sandbox" is too small because platforms don't always fit every problem. McNamara emphasized that human connection remains non-negotiable. "When people stay in our hotels, they're away from home, and they certainly act that way," she said. "I think it's our opportunity to get back to customer service in our industry."
Why this matters for Hospitality and Events
For hotel operators and event planners, the HITEC discussion points to a specific shift: AI will not just automate check-ins or answer guest questions. It will weaken the distribution advantage that brands have used to sign franchise agreements, forcing properties to compete on the actual stay - the room quality, the service, the event execution. If your property or venue cannot deliver a noticeably better on-the-ground experience, AI-driven booking tools will route guests elsewhere, regardless of your loyalty program ties. This means event teams and general managers need to treat every guest touchpoint as a brand contract renewal moment, because distribution loyalty is becoming a thinner safety net.
Your membership also unlocks:
