BERLIN—Technology, sustainability, F&B innovation and robotics are going to “ignite change” in the hospitality industry, according to a panel of major CEOs speaking at IHIF EMEA in Berlin on Tuesday.
Hype around artificial intelligence is already translating into action, said Bernd Mäser, CEO, TUI Hotels & Resorts, sharing how AI is already being used at Tui in “a lot of customer-facing units.” He added: “We have just implemented our first AI host in The Mora, our laid-back luxury brand, which can answer all the questions guests might have in the hotel.”
Said Christopher Norton, CEO, EQX Hotels: “We try to layer in technology to make our service experience more efficient. We use it for sustainability, to eliminate paper and plastic from all the rooms, and use AI in areas like underwriting, finance, and even marketing and communications.”
Dillip Rajakarier, CEO-Minor Hotels, Minor International, said that “after the wake-up call of Covid,” his group was pursuing digital transformation. This included AI applications for technical and engineering areas, but also its usage in guest experiences, and to analyze customer preferences gleaned from website data. “The AI of today can process data in a much more efficient way, and at the end of the day, it’s all about making the guest experience seamless – which is why we use AI across so many functions,” he added.
Enrique Sarasola, president, Room Mate Hotels, countered the conversation by noting that while his firm is implementing a lot of AI tools, “we are one of the few industries left that is so people centric, so we need to think about AI to make life easier for our staff.”
Tech Frontiers
Rajakarier added that the next frontier of technology in hotels would most probably be automation, “mainly because of the human talent we will have in the future.” He added that “the latest generation isn’t interested in doing the mundane stuff” and said that tools like automated check ins worked especially well “in urban city hotels where there is a large volume of guests that just want to get to their rooms.”
Norton suggested that the appetite of guests for automation might change client to client, but added that “tech allows us to customize the experience for the individual as well.” He said: “Great hotels own their guests way before they get to the hotel. If I am ready for you when you get there, it takes a lot of stress out of the travel. Then, human interaction can be linked to pleasantries or glitch recovery.”
Driving Sustainability
Turning to the topic of sustainability, Sarasola said that “the sustainability of staff” was his chief concern, namely wanting to retain talent and make them feel valued. “After an incredible year of profits, we all have to give back to them,” he added. “I give them an extra week’s vacation, the day off on their birthday, an extra month off when pregnant.”
Mäser said that Tui was putting its own stamp on sustainability, particularly in emerging markets. He explained: “When we go to Africa or Asia or build hotels in countries where the environmental topic has not fully emerged, we don’t know if we will find green energy. In Tanzania, we built our own photovoltaic system which enables us to fulfill our targets and reduce some pressure on the country, compared to connecting to the grid.” Elsewhere, the firm has built desalination plants to generate drinking water, all of which help secure green company targets.
Rajakarier described multiple sustainability programs at Minor, covering people, the planet, and supply chains. On the people topic he noted that “DEI is important too” and said that the firm had a hotel school creating the next generation of talent, “offering 1000 scholarships a year” to expand opportunities available to young people.
“We find that customers and young employees want brands that resonate with their value system,” Norton added. “When building new hotels, sustainability starts with the architecture and the building materials.”
F&B Innovation
The panel then tackled areas of innovation in F&B, with Mäser describing an interesting pilot innovation to reduce food waste. “When stewards take plates back to the kitchen, each plate is weighed and the leftovers are analysed by a camera, which generates suggestions on what to change on the menu.”
Rajakarier said that “freshness” was an important ingredient in F&B success, namely innovation and modernity in the space. “We operate about 4,000 restaurants round the world, but we also do pop ups, beach bars and rooftop bars, giving clients something fresh all the time, and attracting the young customer segment as well,” he said.
Closing on the topic of robotics, the panel diverged on its potential impact in hospitality. Sarasola quipped that it was impossible to find a robot that would “clean as well as my cleaning ladies or serve drinks as well as our barmen.” But other leaders thought that the robot revolution would be inevitable.
Said Rajakarier: “Hospitality is one of the last industries to embrace robotics, but we have to embrace change whether we like it or not. We are using robotics on the back end, and recognize that there is a talent crunch, so you may have to do some things with technology.”
Mäser suggested that the industry might find a “middle ground,” noting that lifting technology for mattresses is already assisting room staff in some markets like Majorca. “Some 50 percent of cleaners are now using it, the young ones particularly. Change comes in small steps.”