Artificial intelligence is improving human interaction by freeing hotel leaders from spreadsheets and bringing them back to guests

By Andrew Carey

Artificial intelligence has quickly become one of the most talked about topics in hospitality, and it’s often accompanied by equal parts of excitement and anxiety. The conversation is not whether AI will become part of the hotel business, but how it will influence our behaviors and interactions.

Over the next five years, the most meaningful impact of AI will come from its ability to free hotel leaders from the distracting burden of collecting, manipulating, and interpreting data. For decades, our managers have been pulled deeper into administrative work that keeps them behind a desk rather than creating relationships with guests and associates.

We need to reverse that trend

Instead of spending hours assembling reports and reconciling information from different systems, managers should be able to leverage AI to receive clear, actionable information to help them make better decisions faster. It’s not a matter of technological efficiency; rather it’s delivering insights and clarity to leaders so they can better focus on people.

For management companies that are just beginning their AI journeys, the most practical first step is using tools that already exist. Leaders and operators need to become comfortable experimenting with AI in ways that reduce daily workflow and improve productivity. They need to practice with today’s tools so tomorrow’s solutions feel approachable. This will be a rapid evolution, but operators must jump in now to understand the opportunity.

The larger structural changes in technology, branding, and distribution will take time to evolve, but organizations that begin learning now will be better prepared for what comes next.

One of the advantages of AI is that it does not dramatically change the playing field between branded and independent properties. Data will continue to be consolidated across brands or within brand families, but the real opportunity lies in aggregating and interpreting that data more effectively. AI has the ability to distill insights from the data swamp.

Additionally, AI tools can help operators access corporate tools, operational knowledge, and process expertise that may have previously been difficult to locate or understand. Across disciplines, management companies hold a tremendous amount of institutional knowledge and history that is difficult to access. AI simply provides a new way to unlock it.

Dispelling Misconceptions

Despite all the enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence, there are still misconceptions about what it can realistically do today. Owners and operators are constantly being bombarded with marketing messages suggesting that AI solutions are fully mature and ready to transform the industry overnight.

The reality is more nuanced.
For some time, the hospitality industry has been using AI for revenue management and labor scheduling, but many of the most promising applications around data aggregation and operational intelligence are still developing. Those solutions will arrive, but the industry is not quite there yet.

Rather than fearing AI, the hospitality industry should view it as a tool that helps us deliver on our core promise – guest satisfaction.

The goal is not to replace human service but rather to enhance it. AI can help operators monitor the physical condition of a property, identify operational challenges earlier, and give managers the insights they need to lead more effectively. Rather than sifting through historical reports, property leadership will receive proactive alerts about financial and operational issues.
Perhaps most importantly, it can free leaders from the endless cycle of reporting and analysis that has gradually pulled them away from guests.

Collaboration is Key

The success of AI adoption will also depend on collaboration across the industry. Hotel brands have a powerful voice in shaping the technology landscape and should work closely with vendors to define the next generation of operational and revenue tools. Management companies and owners must also articulate their ideal solutions so technology providers can build systems that truly address user needs.

Ultimately, AI has the potential to level the playing field between the largest operators and the rest of the management world. When large and small players alike have access to clearer information and better analytical tools, the competitive advantage shifts back to execution. The companies that thrive are those with the strongest field organizations, the most effective processes, and the clearest strategic vision.

AI has the power to flip the script on how hotels operate.

The companies that embrace that opportunity will innovate and thrive. Those that hesitate risk being left behind.

MARKHAM, Ontario—February 10, 2026— In today’s hospitality landscape, a sleek, intuitive interface is no longer a differentiator. It’s a baseline for any property management system. Clean, minimal design helps staff learn quickly, streamline daily tasks, and reduce operational friction. But for hotels juggling complex workflows, multiple departments and interconnected systems, usability requires more than simple aesthetics. True efficiency comes from pairing simplicity with the depth needed to manage day-to-day realities of hotel operations.

Streamlined and minimalist workflows certainly have their place for smaller properties or those with straightforward needs. But for larger or multi-property operations, systems must support complexity without overwhelming staff. The most effective PMS solutions must combine the best of both worlds: a modern, easy-to-navigate interface backed by robust functionality and configurability to support the intricate demands of hospitality at scale.

“Hotels are dynamic environments with many moving parts, regardless of how simple the interface may appear,” said Lisa Jane Wheaton, Senior Product Strategist at Maestro PMS. “Front desk, housekeeping, food and beverage, events, sales, and accounting all depend on accurate data, seamless system handoffs between departments, and workflows that reflect how hotels actually operate. When technology oversimplifies those realities, the burden often shifts to staff.”

Modern hotels rely on strong integration across departments to deliver consistent, personal guest experiences. Maestro brings key operational and guest information together in a single view, giving teams visibility into the full guest journey. From room status and group bookings to spa reservations, activities, and sales and catering events, staff can quickly understand who the guest is, whether they are new or returning, and what matters to them. With this shared view, teams spend less time tracking information and more time engaging with guests in a way that feels informed, efficient, and personal, while reducing errors caused by disconnected systems.

Supporting Real-World Workflows
The real measure of PMS usability vs. scalability is not how few buttons appear on a screen, but how effectively the system supports complex operational requirements without disrupting established workflows.

“True ease of use comes from intelligent design backed by powerful functionality,” Wheaton explained. “A system can look beautiful but still create friction if it can’t handle operational complexity. The most effective hospitality systems pair intuitive navigation with a robust backend that anticipates real-world hotel scenarios.”

Maestro PMS was purpose-built to support the full scope of hotel operations, from independent properties to multi-property groups with sophisticated needs. By combining flexibility, configurability, and deep operational logic into its core platform, Maestro enables hotels to reduce operational bottlenecks while empowering staff with tools that align with their daily responsibilities.

“Our philosophy has always been modern usability powered by operational strength,” said Wheaton. “We don’t strip away critical functionality for the sake of appearances. Instead, we design hotel software that supports staff, adapts to unique workflows, and scales as the business evolves without sacrificing usability. In the end, we are enabling hotels to scale while maintaining control and a user-friendly experience. That balance is what allows hotels to scale without sacrificing usability.”

As hotels continue to reassess their technology stacks and evaluate new hospitality systems, Maestro PMS encourages decision-makers to look beyond surface-level design and ask deeper questions about how technology supports frontline staff workflows, interdepartmental coordination, and long-term operational success.

“A clean interface should make powerful operations easier, not hide their complexity.” Wheaton concluded. “When hotel software combines modern design with the operational depth hotels rely on, ease of use becomes a natural outcome; not a marketing claim.”

For more information about Maestro PMS, visit www.maestropms.com.

Hotel owners and operators across the country face increasing exposure from violent crime tied to on-site bars, shared parking areas, and third-party tenants. A recent $5.5 million negligent security settlement secured by The Haggard Law Firm arising from a Riviera Beach, Florida hotel property illustrates how operational shortcuts, informal security practices, and blurred ownership structures can create catastrophic liability—even when management believes risk has been outsourced.

On February 14, 2023, a 28-year-old patron was shot and killed outside a bar operating beneath The Sands Hotel in Riviera Beach. The incident followed a confrontation with an individual known to management for causing disturbances on the property. Despite a documented history of violent crime linked to the bar, the property lacked trained, uniformed security and relied instead on informal “patrols” by untrained individuals connected to ownership.

What makes the case especially instructive for hotel operators is what emerged during litigation: the same family controlled both the property owner and management company, personally oversaw security decisions, and installed a non-professional associate to manage safety operations. That structure eliminated any legal separation between entities and allowed plaintiffs to establish that knowledge of risk—and failure to act—was shared across all parties.

The defense argued that the parking lot where the shooting occurred was owned by the city and therefore outside their responsibility. Evidence showed otherwise. Courts and juries consistently view security responsibility through the lens of foreseeability and control, not property lines—particularly when a hotel chooses to host a high-risk tenant such as a bar.

The case ultimately resolved for $5.5 million after plaintiffs’ counsel refused to accept a $1 million primary insurance payout and successfully challenged an excess carrier’s attempt to deny coverage based on technical distinctions between affiliated entities.

For hotel managers and operators, the takeaway is clear:

• Bars and nightlife tenants materially increase security obligations
• Informal or untrained security measures do not satisfy industry standards
• Ownership and management overlap can expand—not limit—liability
• Insurance coverage disputes are common after violent incidents
• Post-incident fixes do not shield against pre-incident failures

As violent crime continues to intersect with hospitality properties, this case serves as a stark reminder that security is not an expense line—it is a risk management function with existential consequences.

This story offers hotel operators a rare, inside look at how negligent security cases are built, how defenses fail, and what operational decisions most often lead to eight-figure exposure.

What does this new web model mean for hotels and how will it change how guests’ book, engage, and buy

By Brad Brewer

For decades, the web has been held together by a chaotic and brittle system of custom APIs. This fragmented landscape of bespoke integrations is more than just a developer headache; it is the primary bottleneck preventing the next generation of AI from reaching its potential.

How can an intelligent agent act on our behalf when it must first learn a unique, proprietary language for every business on the internet?

A new, far more elegant model is emerging that sidesteps this problem entirely. It doesn't require a costly rebuilding of the web or forcing every hotel company to become an API developer. Instead, it proposes layering intelligence on top of the web we already have. This transformative approach is awakening the dormant potential of every webpage, turning each one into a smart, actionable endpoint that any AI agent can understand and use, natively.

Your Website is Already an API (It Just Doesn’t Know It Yet)

The core principle of the Natural Language Web (NL Web) Foundation is that the existing web is a vast, untapped network of API-ready surfaces. This model eliminates the need for hotels to build proprietary data feeds or custom APIs. Instead, it treats the content and structure already present on a webpage as sufficient context for an agent to interpret and act.

This approach turns every URL into an accessible, interpretable endpoint. An agent doesn't need a special connection; it simply "reads" the page. The webpage itself contains the semantic context required for an agent to understand intent, retrieve facts, and prepare to act.

A single webpage becomes both documentation and API.

For this model to function with precision, an agent must be able to trust the meaning behind the content it sees. This is where structured data acts as the definitive specification layer. Using open standards like Schema.org and JSON-LD, websites can embed machine-readable definitions directly into their HTML. This markup clearly defines objects, attributes, and relationships (what a product is, its price, the features of a hotel room, or the policies for booking).

This structured data provides the ground truth, preventing agent hallucination and ensuring the natural language processing is anchored to canonical facts. When a website includes this markup, it provides a real-time "specification" of its services and offers, performing the same function as traditional API documentation. In this model, websites become living documents that double as lightweight APIs.

Natural Language is the Universal Query Language

The next major shift is the adoption of natural language as the universal query layer. AI agents no longer need to rely on hidden XML feeds or custom API calls designed for machines. They can now interpret human intent—whether from a voice command, a chatbot, or a search query—by processing the natural language content directly on a webpage.

This is a transformative change because it democratizes agent access to the web, dismantling the walled gardens created by proprietary APIs and doing any business with a website a first-class citizen in the new AI economy. Any model can understand any page because the interface is no longer a rigid, programmatic one, but the universal language of humans.

While the Natural Language Web makes the web readable, another layer is needed to make it executable. This is the complementary role of the Model Context Protocol (MCP), the missing piece that turns passive understanding into direct action.

The Natural Language Web supplies meaning. MCP supplies action.

But how does MCP translate “understanding” into a specific “action”? It employs a sophisticated orchestration layer. First, an Intent Classifier using mechanisms like a SAR (Signal-to-Action Ratio) score and an MCP Intent Matrix (MIM) evaluates the user's query to determine its precise nature (Is this a query for availability, a modification request, or a simple information lookup?). Once the intent is classified, a Context Router maps the data from the webpage to the appropriate back-end system.

This intelligent routing is what allows Agentic Hospitality’s Travel Operating System MCP to provide the "executable layer," connecting an agent's understanding to a business's real-time systems.

This approach shifts the balance of power, moving away from third-party aggregators. As the source architecture notes, the result is “operationalizing” a new internet model where the hotel owns every endpoint and every action.

A More Intelligent Web, Not a New One

This vision is not about replacing the web, but about activating its full potential. By layering machine-readable meaning and a universal action protocol over our existing digital infrastructure, we create an internet that is not just readable, but truly executable for AI. This shift transforms every website from a passive brochure into an active, agent-ready distribution channel, profoundly altering the dynamics of competition and user experience in the coming agentic era.

The foundation is already in place; the revolution is in making it intelligent.

If every page on the internet could not only be read but also acted upon, what new possibilities would that unlock for how we interact with the digital world?

About the Author

Brad Brewer is Founder and CEO of Agentic Hospitality, an AI Deployment-as-a-Service platform purpose-built for global Agentic hotel distribution. Developed in collaboration with Brewer Digital and deployed across Google Cloud and Vertex AI, Agentic Hospitality transforms guest interactions into revenue-generating, loyalty-enhancing journeys in real time. The company is powered by a best-in-class ecosystem of technology partners, each chosen for their leadership in AI, automation, data orchestration, and hospitality infrastructure. Players include: Google Cloud (Infrastructure layer, Vertex AI, and native OpenAI API compatibility); Brewer Digital Marketing (Full-stack platform integration, including Schema Adapter and Booking Engine Adapter); and Little Buddy Agency (Automation meets creativity through human-AI hybrid tools).Visit https://www.agentichospitality.com.