Revenue Management & Channel Opt

What will the guest journey look like in 2026 and beyond? As hospitality arrives at yet another critical moment, the 2026 Hospitality Industry Outlook authored by Mews explores how the rise of AI – both generative and agentic – is transforming how hotels operate, interact with guests and drive revenue.

In hospitality, we often talk about guest experience, operational excellence and creating memorable moments. But the most profound lessons in hospitality come from stories that begin far away from a hotel lobby.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been extolled as a savior for hospitality. It’s a buzzword; every vendor is saying they’re doing it. Despite genuine AI-based functionality development and implementation that’s happening under the hood, most of what’s currently available is far short of the omnipotent promises that salespersons are making.

We all want smarter systems. Better forecasts. Faster decisions.

Stop just discussing digital transformation. Start delivering it.

I’ve dealt with my fair share of SaaS support. The robotic scripts, the helpful agents, and the occasional genius buried behind a chatbot. So when a client claimed they couldn’t raise a support ticket, I didn’t believe them. I asked them to try again, live.

Why digital transformation failed hotels… and why AI is forcing a complete reset of how value is created in hospitality.

The premise of this discussion is that thought leadership can and should be developed as part of a business culture. I view thought leadership being tied to overarching business concepts like leadership, innovation, sustainability, and communication. The inferences from thought leadership in general, is to have an authoritative source share what s/he or a business see as the future and or the changes in a business sector or in the economy in general.

For decades, hotels operated like finely tuned orchestras — every section knowing its role, every department mastering its part. Sales filled the rooms. Marketing built the story. Revenue optimized the price.

As we edge closer to 2026, one question keeps surfacing in hospitality circles: where is our industry headed?