HFTP Launches AI Council to Set Ethical Standards for Hospitality
On 10 February 2026, Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) announced a new AI Council built to give hospitality and events leaders clear standards, education, and a neutral voice on AI. The focus: protect guest trust, respect data privacy, and help teams put AI to work with confidence.
Participation is exclusive to HFTP's global members. There's no involvement fee. Meetings will be virtual to keep access wide and momentum steady across regions.
What the council will do
- Develop ethical AI standards with data privacy and guest trust at the core.
- Publish best practices and governance guidance for finance, IT, and operations teams.
- Curate case studies that show what works (and what doesn't) across hospitality and beyond.
- Host educational webinars that make AI concepts clear and usable on the job.
- Offer neutral insight on AI trends and vendor evaluation-signal over noise.
Why this matters for hospitality and events
AI is touching revenue management, guest messaging, staffing, and back-office workflows. The risk isn't using AI-it's using it without standards. This council gives operators a shared playbook so innovation moves forward without eroding guest trust or creating compliance headaches.
Who's leading the effort
The council is co-chaired by Michael Goldrich, founder and chief advisor at Vikander Advisors, and Shannon McCallum, vice president of hotel operations at Resorts World Las Vegas and secretary on the HFTP Global Board. Goldrich brings deep experience in digital and AI strategy, including a five-step process for guiding AI transformation. McCallum is known for operational excellence, improving guest experience, and deploying practical solutions that stick.
Together, they'll guide frameworks for AI readiness and champion responsible innovation across the industry.
What HFTP is saying
"As AI continues to reshape the business market, our members need a reliable compass to work through these changes. This council is not about building the tools, but about building the understanding and the guardrails necessary to use them well. It is a vital step in our commitment to serving the industry by providing the foresight and standards that will define the future of hospitality technology."
- HFTP CEO Frank Wolfe, CAE
How to get involved
HFTP is accepting volunteer forms to serve on the council. If you're an AI expert or an operator with meaningful AI experience, you can express interest through HFTP's site. Learn more at hftp.org.
Practical next steps for your team
- List your current and near-term AI use cases (guest messaging, forecasting, marketing ops, fraud checks). Prioritize by impact and risk.
- Set data rules now: what data AI tools can access, retention limits, and PII handling. Write it down and train teams. Consider role-specific guidance such as the AI Learning Path for Regulatory Affairs Specialists to align privacy and compliance practices.
- Create a lightweight vendor scorecard: security posture, privacy controls, model transparency, bias testing, and auditability.
- Pilot with a clear success metric (e.g., response time, upsell rate, cost per task) and a rollback plan.
- Document wins and misses-feed them back into standards. Share learnings cross-functionally, not just in IT.
- Plan enablement: short webinars, playbooks, and office hours beat long manuals. Keep it simple and recurring.
If your team needs structured upskilling, explore role-focused programs like AI for Executives & Strategy to build leadership-level governance and deployment skills.
About HFTP
Founded in 1952 and headquartered in Austin, Texas with offices in the EU, HFTP is a nonprofit association serving the finance and technology segments of hospitality. The association provides expert networks, education, career development, research, leadership opportunities, and global events, including HITEC-the industry's largest hospitality technology tradeshow and conference brand. HFTP also oversees the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI), Hotel Online, and Hospitality Upgrade Magazine. For details, visit hftp.org.
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