Hoteliers have a lot on their plates when it comes to technology. Sorting hype from reality in generative artificial intelligence is just one challenge on a list that includes addressing technical debt, optimizing revenue and incorporating data science.
Cloud technology can help, according to Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of Lighthouse (formerly OTA Insight), because it enables hotels to make changes and drive innovation through gradual steps.
“There’s a tendency to take large transformational projects that take multiple years to implement," he said. "It doesn't have to be that way. You can actually release and unlock a lot of value through smaller steps and increments.”
Fitzpatrick was joined in the PhocusWire Studio at The Phocuswright Conference by Klaus Kohlmayr, chief evangelist at IDeaS, who added that there is momentum in hotels investing in technology and upgrades and that the big chains are investing heavily in both technology and cloud platforms.
“AWS [Amazon Web Services], who is our partner, has said a lot of them [hotel companies] have completed or are about to complete cloud migrations, and there is going to be a whole bunch of new innovation built on top of what they have done foundationally over the last couple of years. So I feel over the next 18 months to two years we're going to see some pretty exciting innovation coming out.”
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Kohlmayr also shared that hospitality is not an industry that naturally embraces innovation, but that there is an acceptance that technology can improve the sector.
“It’s man and machine. Using technology to get better information, to make better decisions and to create better services and experiences. Does everybody embrace it fully? No. But, we can see gradual change.”
Generative AI and the possible applications for hotels was also discussed with both experts urging caution. Fitzpatrick said, “It still comes down to you need really good inputs and data to essentially enable the models because otherwise you end up with all sorts of biases and ultimately poor decision making.”
Watch the full interview for views on the environment in 2024 for hospitality technology startups, funding and the potential for mergers and acquisitions.