The hospitality industry is undergoing a digital revolution, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). This year’s HSMAI Middle East & Africa Commercial Strategy Conference, held in Conrad Dubai from November 26 to 27, delved into the transformative potential of AI in sales, marketing, distribution, and revenue management.
The conference highlighted how AI is evolving from a mere tool to a strategic partner. By automating routine tasks and enabling data-driven decision-making, AI empowers hospitality professionals to focus on higher-value activities, such as building customer relationships and driving revenue growth.
As the industry continues to embrace AI, it is poised to unlock new opportunities and redefine the guest experience. Still, experts agree that AI could make certain jobs redundant in hospitality, while also creating new roles, especially when it comes to sales, marketing, revenue management and distribution.
“Every job that is repetitive in its activities will be the first to become redundant and to be replaced by AI,” John Sanei, Global Futurist, 5x bestselling author and 2x award-winning podcast co-host, said. “Although it will be impossible to say which jobs we will have and need in the future, we will see a profound shift in the relationship between humans and machines. We will see two types of businesses: those driven by AI and robots and organic businesses engineered by humans. The currency of the future is human connection, which will become the highest form of luxury and present a great opportunity to the hospitality industry for purposeful, transformational travel and
tourism.”
Michael McCartan, Area Vice President EMEA, IDeaS, said: “While AI won’t entirely replace human roles, it will undoubtedly reshape the nature of these jobs. As the economist Richard Baldwin famously said at 2023 World Economic Forum’s Growth Summit, “AI won’t take your job, it’s somebody using AI that will take your job”. As AI becomes more sophisticated, new roles will emerge. AI Specialists, Data Analysts, and AI Ethics Officers will be in high demand to develop, implement and manage AI systems ethically. Additionally, human-centred Design Specialists will be crucial to ensure seamless human-AI collaboration.”
Michael Goldrich, Founder & Chief Advisor, Vivander Advisors LLC, said: “AI will likely redefine roles such as data entry, basic customer service and routine reporting in hospitality. However, this shift will open the door to new, specialised positions: AI Strategy Managers to oversee ethical deployment, Experience Design Architects to create hybrid digital-human guest journeys, and Revenue Intelligence Officers to merge AI insights with industry acumen. AI in hospitality isn’t about eliminating jobs; it’s about evolving them. The future belongs to those who can synergize AI’s capabilities with human creativity, transforming service delivery into a refined art.”
CS Ramachandran, CRME, VP, Hotel Revenue Optimisation, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, added, “As with every other decade, when there is a change in technology, the industry adapts with new roles. We have seen Sustainability Specialists, Guest Experience Managers and DEI focused roles emerge, and now existing roles will evolve and adapt to include technology expertise. The most successful professionals will be those who can effectively collaborate with AI, oversee the work, and identify opportunities for AI implementation.”
Leo Barrit, Vice President of Sales, FLYR Hospitality, thinks the headcount will likely stay neutral. “The productivity of your managers will increase, but their skillsets will need to continually be enhanced. We’re still in the early days with natural language prompts, where the key is still making sure you’re using the right prompts. I believe that eventually as machine learning improves, we’ll arrive to the point where you don’t have to be quite as good in writing prompts within a few years.”