Human Warmth, AI Precision: Meaningful Moments of Engagement Across Industries

MarTech+ Summit 2025: Conversational AI that guests feel, not just use

At the 6th edition of MarTech+ Summit, leaders from hospitality, finance, FMCG and healthcare showed how conversational AI turns touchpoints into moments guests remember. The takeaway for hotels and events: speed and scale matter, but warmth wins. Done right, AI helps you respond fast, stay consistent, and still feel human.

• AI moves past automation to empathetic, multilingual, context-aware service.
• Hospitality gains: faster in-stay responses, consistent brand voice, smarter upsells.
• Finance and healthcare lessons: precision, compliance and accessibility make trust possible.

What conversational AI actually does

It uses natural language processing, machine learning and sentiment analysis to understand intent, learn from each exchange and respond with relevance. Routine queries are automated so your team can focus on high-value moments. Guests get consistent, accessible support across channels without losing the human touch.

Hospitality lessons from the panel

"Hospitality is inherently human. Guests remember the warmth of service, the small gestures. Technology can't replace that, but it can amplify it," said Tom Welbury (Bloom), noting properties that deliver a toothbrush in four minutes across dozens of locations. That level of reliability builds trust at scale.

In fast-moving contexts, attention is brief. "You have literally seconds to capture attention. Conversational AI allows us to create moments of engagement that are meaningful, not just transactional," said Niranjan Kumar (KRBL). That mindset translates to pre-stay engagement and on-property prompts guests actually welcome.

Compliance and accuracy are non-negotiable. "In finance, AI must be precise, reliable and compliant. We cannot afford errors, yet customers expect seamless, multilingual support," said Venkatraman Narayan (Moneyview). Hotels handling payments, IDs and special requests should apply the same standard.

Adoption needs intent and iteration. "Conversational AI isn't plug-and-play. Start small, focus on high-volume use cases, iterate constantly, and always maintain a 360-degree view of the customer," said Paritosh Gandhi (Infobip).

The hospitality playbook: pre-stay, in-stay, post-stay

• Pre-stay: instant FAQs, room preferences, upgrade offers, airport transfers, visa letters. Multilingual quoting via web chat, WhatsApp, and SMS. Collect preferences that route straight into PMS/CRM.
• In-stay: housekeeping requests, amenities, spa/gym bookings, table reservations, F&B orders, wayfinding, late checkout. Promise clear SLAs (e.g., 5-10 minutes) and keep them.
• Post-stay: e-receipts, feedback and reviews, loyalty enrollment, targeted win-back offers. Keep the tone service-first, not sales-first.

Event lifecycle automation

• Registration: quick RSVP, badge details, dietary needs, travel info, calendar holds.
• During the event: live agenda, room changes, seat availability, Q&A moderation, speaker bios, on-the-spot feedback.
• Post-event: highlights, session recordings, NPS collection, sponsor introductions with consent, certificate delivery.
• Ideas to copy from FMCG: short interactive quizzes to route attendees to the right sessions or dining options in seconds.

Conversation design that feels human

• Set a warm, concise tone. Avoid jargon. Mirror the guest's language when possible.
• Start with 5-10 high-volume intents (check-in time, Wi-Fi, directions, amenities, upgrades). Expand after you measure outcomes.
• Always offer a clear path to a human. Escalate on sentiment dips, confusion, or high-value requests.
• Respect consent. Opt-in messaging beats intrusive prompts. Be clear about what's automated.
• Maintain a single guest view so conversations across channels feel continuous.

Data, privacy and trust

• Collect the minimum data needed. Mask and encrypt PII. Keep audit logs.
• For payments, adhere to PCI DSS and use tokenized flows. Limit what the bot handles over chat.
• Offer language choice up front; accessibility includes multilingual support and simple flows.

If you use channels like WhatsApp for pre-stay and in-stay support, review their platform policies: WhatsApp Business Platform.

Tech stack and channels

• Integrations: PMS/CRS for reservations and preferences, POS for F&B, CRM/CDP for profiles and journeys, ticketing for service orders.
• Channels: website chat, WhatsApp, SMS, Apple Messages for Business, email, kiosk QR, voice/IVR handoffs.
• Routing: skill-based assignment to front desk, concierge, housekeeping, banquets. Escalate with full context and message history.

Metrics that matter

• Median first-response time (goal: under 60 seconds).
• Request-to-fulfillment SLA by category (e.g., amenities under 10 minutes).
• Containment/deflection rate (automated resolution without agent).
• CSAT after resolved chats; sentiment improvement across a conversation.
• Upsell conversion (upgrades, F&B, spa) and revenue per 100 chats.
• Cost per resolved conversation vs. agent-only baseline.

Simple ROI view: (labor hours saved + incremental revenue from upsells) - (AI platform + integration + training). Track it monthly and adjust flows based on the data.

Launch plan: 30 days

• Week 1: pick top 5 intents, define tone, write scripts, map escalation paths.
• Week 2: integrate PMS/CRM and ticketing; set up channels (web, WhatsApp); add analytics.
• Week 3: pilot on one property or one event; monitor SLAs and CSAT; refine copy.
• Week 4: add 3 more intents, enable multilingual, train staff on handoffs; start A/B tests for upgrade offers.

What this means for your team

Guests want fast answers and thoughtful service. Conversational AI gives you both: consistent responses, reliable fulfillment, and a brand voice that feels human. Start small, measure what matters, and keep humans in the loop where it counts.

Further learning

• AI courses by job role - build conversational AI skills across your team