A Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing AI in Your Hotel

Assess Your Hotel’s Needs

Before implementing AI, it’s crucial to assess your hotel’s specific challenges and objectives. Are your booking processes inefficient? Do guests frequently complain about slow service? Identifying these pain points will help you choose the right AI solutions to address them. For example, if overbooking is a common issue, AI-powered booking management tools can synchronize your inventory across all channels in real time. If guest complaints revolve around slow response times, AI chatbots can provide 24/7 instant support. A thorough assessment ensures your investment in AI delivers measurable benefits.  

Choose the Right Tools and Train Your Team

Jared Spool, Co-Founder of UIE asks, “What was the most important thing you learned yesterday, and how will it impact what you do in the future?”

Once you’ve identified your needs, selecting the right AI tools is the next step. Look for solutions that align with your specific goals, whether it’s a property management system that integrates with voice commands or an AI-powered pricing tool that optimizes revenue. Equally important is training your staff to use these tools effectively. Employees need to understand how AI works and how it complements their roles, rather than fearing it as a replacement. Providing comprehensive training ensures a smooth transition and maximizes the ROI of your AI implementation.  

**Monitor, Optimize, and Succeed**  
AI isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it solution. Once implemented, it’s essential to monitor its performance and gather feedback from both staff and guests. Use analytics provided by the AI system to identify trends and areas for improvement. For example, if certain features are underutilized, consider conducting additional staff training or promoting those features to guests. Regularly updating and optimizing the system ensures it remains relevant and continues to deliver value, helping your hotel stay competitive in an ever-evolving industry.  

Are we designing for users or ourselves?

People don't always know what they want, even if they think the do. As Joe Leech, a UX psychologist says, "People want more choices, but can't deal with them.”

So how do we design for our users, if our users aren’t always telling us the truth? This is one of the most important questions, and something that extensive UX research helps us accomplish.

Back in the 2000s, psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper ran a study regarding consumer choices. They went to a local supermarket, and instructed the store to only sell 6 varieties of jam one week, followed by 30 varieties the following week.

They ran a study on how much jam was sold, and to everyone's surprise, more jam was sold on the week with only 6 choices. But interestingly enough, when the consumers were asked which week they preferred more, they responded with the week that had 30 choices.

Using this analogy, Joe makes a point that is hard to argue with, “A designer who doesn't understand psychology is going to be more successful than an architect who doesn't understand physics".

User research, and a wide variety of it, helps teams get as close as possible to the root of a user’s needs, over their wants. Studying responses on a larger scale is more work, but it helps form the foundation for true UX.