Views & Visions

The hospitality and tourism sector is fundamentally a people-centric business with customer service and engagement being core elements of its culture. However, ongoing labor shortages, increased labor expenses, and inflation have led to customer difficulties, including longer lines, longer wait times, and inadequate personal service. Therefore, more customers began seeking technology solutions such as self-service kiosks and mobile ordering and payments due to these staffing shortages. As technology and automation solutions are widely adopted among businesses, these trends have led to a need for operational efficiency through flexible staffing models, cross-training, and the development of multi-skilled teams.

Subsequently, Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerged, enabling computer systems to perform tasks autonomously without human intervention. Artificial intelligence is currently significantly transforming the hospitality and tourism industry, as an increasing number of customers adopt this technology. These customers now expect businesses to operate with enhanced operational efficiency while also providing seamless guest experiences.

The examples of self-service kiosks and mobile ordering and payments offer automation that provides operational efficiency and cost reduction for businesses. There are five levels of automation, ranging from no automation and high-touch service to full automation, where human intervention is no longer required. My research team and I found that using Robotic Process Automation (RPA), hospitality businesses were able to integrate digital workers into their workforce (i.e., software bots designed to complete routine, rule-based, repetitive tasks with precisely defined rules and predictable data patterns). Using RPA full automation, hospitality businesses were able to automate 50% of the reservations workload in a contact center operation while processing 20,000 monthly transactions, while managing bookings across multiple platforms with updates to property management systems with high accuracy. When used in the accounting department, RPA full automation, along with digital workers, saved 80% of employees' time from repetitive data entry tasks. This enabled the processing of 700 nightly reconciliations for the business portfolio, which spans over 200 hotels, including major chains and independents. By utilizing full automation, employees in these organizations were able to focus on delivering high-touch service and enhancing guest experiences. RPA full automation does not yet utilize AI; when it is used, it is considered Intelligent Process Automation (IPA), which can further transform the hospitality and tourism industry.

While many kiosks, chatbots, virtual assistants, and robotic systems fully automate processes, the integration of AI and Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) can enhance operational efficiency and deliver tailored guest experiences across front- and back-office areas, including revenue management, resource allocation, marketing, and sustainability. In addition to chatbots, IPA also provides conversational AI. This technology enables systems to comprehend, process, and respond like human interaction, with the capability to communicate in multiple languages. This capability is achieved through the combination of machine learning, natural language processing, and speech recognition. The advanced forms of AI, such as agentic AI and hyperautomation, offer autonomous AI systems that can sense, reason, learn, and act independently to perform tasks and execute multi-step tasks. These concepts are still being tested and implemented, and can transform the high-tech aspects of hospitality and tourism industry operations, with the ability to focus on and offer creative, high-touch guest experiences.

AI is here to stay and will continue to transform the hospitality and tourism sectors by improving personalization, streamlining operations, and enhancing customer interaction, all while presenting new ethical issues and concerns regarding data privacy. The hospitality and tourism sector will need to prioritize adherence to regulations (such as General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR) while ensuring that the human element remains a core aspect in an increasingly technology-driven landscape. Although technology can foster career development and enhance job satisfaction by streamlining mundane tasks, it also enables employees through cross-training and the creation of versatile teams, which is essential for the responsible implementation of automation and AI.

Achieving success in the future of hospitality relies on a strong human presence, an organizational culture that emphasizes proper training, and the ethical use of AI. Ultimately, the future of hospitality and tourism depends on the careful integration of automation and AI while maintaining the personal connections that characterize outstanding customer service.

Sources used by the author:

AHLA (2025). State of the Industry: Hotels Face Rising Costs and Flattening Growth, but New Travel Trends Provide Optimism. 

Aluri, A., Gupta, R., & Brown, E. (2025). Investigating the Impact of Automation, Digital Worker, and Artificial Intelligence on the Hospitality Industry. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Cases: An International Case Journal, 0(0).

Connolly, D.J., Kim, J., & Firpo-Cappiello, R. (2024). 2024 Customer Engagement Technology Study: Unlocking Loyalty. Hospitality Technology. 

IBM (2025). Differentiating between intelligence automation and hyperautomation. 

Ajay Aluri, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Hardy Family Hospitality and Tourism Management program at West Virginia University and Founding Director of the Nemacolin Hospitality Innovation and Technology (HIT) Lab. A recognized leader in hospitality technology, he serves on global boards including HFTP and advisory councils for Hospitality Executive, Hospitality Technology, and MURTEC. His research focuses on emerging technologies – AI, automation, AR, and robotics – and their impact on operations and guest experiences. Widely published and honored with numerous awards, Dr. Aluri was named among the Top 100 Most Powerful People in U.S. Hospitality and Top 25 Most Influential Educators by the International Hospitality Institute.