HFTP's Hospitality AI Collective met today to finalize its strategic roadmap and create five subcommittees, accelerating the group's push to provide industry-wide AI education, standards, and practical tools. The global assembly of hospitality professionals, educators, and association representatives also detailed a new AI certification program and a centralized online resource hub set to launch in the coming months.
The Collective's mission, read aloud at the meeting, spells out its broad ambition: "Unite hospitality industry professionals, educators and association representatives, from diverse industry segments to explore, understand and harness the power of AI. We empower our global community through hands-on education, open collaboration, standards, best practices, research and shared insights that turn the potential of AI into real-world results. Together, we champion responsible, ethical AI adoption that strengthens businesses, elevates stakeholder experiences and shapes the future of hospitality."
Subcommittees and governance framework
Co-chairs Michael Goldrich and Shannon McCallum first recapped the group's earlier work, including the Workforce 20X demonstration lab at HITEC 2026, where AI experts from several countries presented on the state of AI in hospitality. Then the group turned to the roadmap ahead. Five subcommittees will structure the work:
- AI Education and Training
- Member and Industry Engagement
- AI Research and Innovation
- AI Ethics and Governance
- Hospitality Applications
Each subcommittee has a chair from within the Collective to keep progress coordinated. The group also plans to use existing corporate data responsibility guidelines for the lodging industry, which HFTP commissioned and published, as a baseline for new AI governance work. A gap analysis will be the first step.
Growing partnerships
The meeting highlighted several collaborations. HFTP and the AI Collective recently joined with Destination AI to advance practical AI education and implementation. While both organizations support Destination AI, the endorsement does not represent the positions of the individual associations inside the Collective.
Hospitality Net, a content distribution provider, will now help spread industry news and insights to a wider audience, supplementing HFTP's own media companies. The International Food and Beverage Technology Association and the China Hotel Technology Alliance have also joined the growing list of participants.
AI certification and a single source of truth
The HFTP Academy is developing an AI certification program, with the first level expected to launch in late Summer 2026. In parallel, the Collective is building a centralized, online repository that will make AI-related resources accessible across the industry. A planned tool will let large language models search the data, positioning the site as a single source of truth for AI in hospitality. The Collective is also ensuring it includes members with lobbying and advocacy experience to support the effort.
Why this matters for hospitality and events
Hospitality professionals will soon have a structured, vendor-neutral framework for understanding and applying AI in their operations. The combination of a certification track, a curated online repository, and practical governance guidelines moves the conversation from experimentation to concrete, everyday use. For event planners, venue managers, and hotel teams, the Collective's work means clearer guidance on what responsible AI looks like-and where to find training and tools that fit the industry's specific demands.
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