A new survey from hospitality software platform Mews found that AI is now standard in hotel operations, but hoteliers still think there’s a line to be drawn.
The survey, which polled more than 500 properties worldwide, found that 98% of hoteliers used artificial intelligence across their operations from December 2025 to March 2026. Despite the ubiquity of AI in operations, hoteliers maintain that some experiences need a human touch, with 59% saying the front desk and check-in should be human-led, according to the survey.
With this finding most pronounced among properties that use AI extensively, the survey suggests hoteliers who are familiar with the technology can better judge “where the human touch is irreplaceable.”
Maturity around AI
Hoteliers are “optimistic about AI and willing to use it broadly, but they are also precise about its role,” Wouter Geerts, director of market research at Mews, said in a statement.
“Comfort with AI goes up with experience, and so does the conviction that certain guest moments should stay human,” Geerts added. “That is not resistance to AI. It is a mature understanding of what it is for.”
This changing attitude around AI comes as more hoteliers are looking to adopt the technology, with a majority of hoteliers planning to prioritize AI in their IT budgets this year, per a report from Canary Technologies.
Mews found that adoption is highest in upper midscale, upscale and luxury properties. The Amsterdam-based company plotted 19 common hotel tasks across “a matrix of usage and comfort with full automation.” It also found that AI is involved in 11 of the 19 most common hotel tasks, with adoption spanning front office, commercial, leadership and food and beverage.
Examples of low-use, high-comfort with full automation tasks include maintenance scheduling, labor scheduling/payroll and software coding. Meanwhile, high-use, low-comfort with automation tasks include translation, price optimization, data analysis, email writing, content production and review management.
Shifting priorities
The Mews survey also uncovered that overall sentiment toward AI is increasingly positive, with 92% of hoteliers optimistic about AI in hospitality, and 83% reporting trust in such tools “to support decision-making.”
However, governance hasn’t kept up with widespread adoption, with 41% of hoteliers reporting they have no formal AI policy in place. The survey shows that trust in AI goes up when hotels have formal guidelines in place: Properties with a formal AI policy report 92% trust in AI, while properties without a policy report 49% trust.
To help unite the industry’s efforts around AI, hospitality technology expert Ira Vouk recently formed AI Hospitality Alliance, which could help hotels devise their formal AI policies or at least bring the idea to the forefront.
Additionally, as more hoteliers adopt AI, revenue is emerging as their next priority, per Mews. Among the most AI-proficient properties, 52% said they want AI to primarily support revenue growth, ahead of efficiency and cost reduction.
“Hotels have spent the last few years getting the operational foundations right. What we are seeing now is a shift in how hoteliers think about AI,” Mews CEO Matt Welle said in a statement. “The question is no longer whether to use it, but where it creates the most value.”
The report also comes as hospitality players are experimenting with the technology across their operations and furthering their AI strategies. Mews, for example, recently launched a new AI-powered product called Mews Business Intelligence.
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts also launched its own native ChatGPT app, and Choice Hotels International partnered with AWS on an enterprisewide AI deployment. During first-quarter earnings calls, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Hilton and Marriott International touted new AI tools.
