AI in hotels: what guests actually remember matters

Jennifer Axness has published a piece in Hotel News Resource about what she calls the On&Trip Experience, the idea that guests no longer judge a hotel by the lobby or the pillow menu, but by the small moments that happen during the stay. And she argues that AI is quietly helping properties read those moments in real time.

The core point is simple and I agree with most of it. Guests remember the greeting that already knew their name, the room that was ready at 13:00 instead of 15:00, the restaurant that remembered the allergy without being asked twice. Behind each of those there is a system stitching together PMS data, service tickets and booking history. AI does not create the memory. It just makes it usable for the person on the floor.

My honest take is that most hotels already own the raw material and still underuse it. Before buying another AI layer, check whether your PMS exports clean guest profiles and whether your front desk actually sees them. The tech is the easy part. The operational habit of acting on it is where the real differentiation lives.