Artificial Intelligence (AI) was a headline topic at the recent edition of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International’s Annual Commercial Strategy Conference Middle East in Dubai, receiving a 360-degree analysis spanning inspiration, theory and application. At the event, Mona Faraj, president – HSMAI MEA, asked three conference speakers and industry experts to share their insights on AI as a driver of change in the hospitality industry and the key opportunities and applications on their radars in 2025 and beyond.

A powerful enabler

AI is a powerful enabler for hotels to focus on what the business is all about: customers and their experience. We are already seeing fantastic efficiencies in the revenue and commercial departments through the adoption of AI-first solutions. Despite the evolving commercial landscape and its complexities, AI is being utilized to retain pricing advantage by an increasing number of hospitality businesses and its impact is being felt widely across commercial organizations. We expect those efficiencies and increased revenues to expand further and drive more personalized experiences for travelers.

Practical benefits

AI offers significant benefits for hospitality venues, especially when it comes to revenue management and business intelligence solutions. By analyzing vast amounts of data, AI can predict demand patterns, optimize pricing strategies and identify the most profitable booking windows. This is a step change from most of the legacy systems that use static rules-based algorithms. AI also streamlines inventory management and guest segmentation, allowing for personalized offers and targeted marketing.

Additionally, AI-driven insights improve decision-making, enhancing operational efficiency and increasing overall profitability. In a competitive market, these tools enable properties to stay agile, adapt quickly and maximize revenue potential.

Major impact on customer engagement

I see AI changing the hospitality industry in both the B2C and B2B categories. From a B2C perspective, we are already seeing AI-powered chatbots assisting guests. AI has also impacted marketing with content and will become more prevalent in personalized marketing. Machine learning has started to help segment customers based on buying decisions and we can expect personalized content to provide tailored campaigns, increasing engagement and loyalty. With B2B, I believe AI and machine learning will drive an increase in productivity. Service optimization tools will use machine learning to analyze guest requests, help hotels
spot areas for improvement and assist in anticipating guests needs. FLYR and our applications will assist revenue managers by reducing the hours required to do daily tasks and providing hoteliers with greater insights.

Greater added value

The benefits of AI are multifaceted, enabling hotels to provide offerings that resonate, from search and digital marketing through to onsite experiences. Adding value throughout the guest journey, AI consolidates and tidies data from multiple systems to support deduping, creating a single, accurate profile for each guest. Hotels can personalize marketing and target the right guests with the right messages, using AI to segment data beyond basic demographics. In this way, they can focus on detailed preferences, behaviors and interests. Furthermore, AI enabled chatbots and virtual assistants enhance guest engagement by providing 24/7 support, while sentiment analysis helps businesses understand guest feedback to improve experiences.

Boosting visibility and tracking performance

AI has the ability to transform data into actionable insights. In tracking marketing performance, AI identifies top-performing channels, underperforming campaigns and untapped customer segments, while making suggestions for growth. This insight guides hotel marketers to schedule campaigns for maximum impact, whether that’s by boosting visibility during peaks, launching promotions before off-peak periods or publishing campaigns based on customer behavior at the most effective times. AI data analysis and automation makes targeting audiences more precise, enabling hyper-personalization by offering tailored recommendations to potential customers. By optimizing marketing activity timings and messaging, hotels can attract more guests and convert more bookings from the right audience.

Redefining advertising

AI has helped reshape digital advertising campaigns. Google Performance Max for Travel Goals (PMax) cuts through the noise to better connect with prospective guests. It expands ad reach across all Google platforms, connecting hotels to a wider audience that traditional campaigns can’t reach. Mapped to a hotel’s first-party guest data in the Cendyn Digital Marketing Platform (DMP), PMax taps into Google’s advancements in machine learning and AI to increase hotels’ visibility to relevant audiences, improving conversion rates. PMax also considers seasonality and travel-specific trends to fine-tune campaign performance, driving sustained momentum in marketing efforts.

Greater added value

The benefits of AI are multifaceted, enabling hotels to provide offerings that resonate, from search and digital marketing through to onsite experiences. Adding value throughout the guest journey, AI consolidates and tidies data from multiple systems to support deduping, creating a single, accurate profile for each guest. Hotels can personalize marketing and target the right guests with the right messages, using AI to segment data beyond basic demographics. In this way, they can focus on detailed preferences, behaviors and interests. Furthermore, AI enabled chatbots and virtual assistants enhance guest engagement by providing 24/7 support, while sentiment analysis helps businesses understand guest feedback to improve experiences.

Boosting visibility and tracking performance

AI has the ability to transform data into actionable insights. In tracking marketing performance, AI identifies top-performing channels, underperforming campaigns and untapped customer segments, while making suggestions for growth. This insight guides hotel marketers to schedule campaigns for maximum impact, whether that’s by boosting visibility during peaks, launching promotions before off-peak periods or publishing campaigns based on customer behavior at the most effective times. AI data analysis and automation makes targeting audiences more precise, enabling hyper-personalization by offering tailored recommendations to potential customers. By optimizing marketing activity timings and messaging, hotels can attract more guests and convert more bookings from the right audience.

Redefining advertising

AI has helped reshape digital advertising campaigns. Google Performance Max for Travel Goals (PMax) cuts through the noise to better connect with prospective guests. It expands ad reach across all Google platforms, connecting hotels to a wider audience that traditional campaigns can’t reach. Mapped to a hotel’s first-party guest data in the Cendyn Digital Marketing Platform (DMP), PMax taps into Google’s advancements in machine learning and AI to increase hotels’ visibility to relevant audiences, improving conversion rates. PMax also considers seasonality and travel-specific trends to fine-tune campaign performance, driving sustained momentum in marketing efforts.

Sustainable growth through innovation

AI fosters growth by simplifying complex processes, allowing hoteliers to focus on their core priorities – delivering exceptional guest experiences and driving revenue. Unified AI-powered solutions integrate critical functions, such as pricing intelligence, demand forecasting and guest sentiment analysis. By breaking down silos and providing real-time, actionable insights, these tools enable hotels to adapt swiftly to market dynamics, attract the right guests and maximize profitability. Innovations in generative AI summaries, behavioral intelligence and AI-driven reservation systems empower hoteliers to anticipate guest needs and optimize resources, paving the way for sustainable growth and innovation in the industry.