Dive Brief:
- Nearly all hoteliers plan to increase their IT budgets in the next year, with investment in artificial intelligence being a core priority, according to a March 19 report from hospitality software provider Canary Technologies titled “Navigating AI: Emerging Trends in Hospitality.”
- The majority (85%) of hospitality IT decision-makers said they will devote more than 5% of their IT budgets to AI over the next 12 months, according to the report, which, at the beginning of this year, surveyed 404 individuals responsible for IT purchasing decisions at hotels across North America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and the Asia-Pacific region.
- The anticipated increased investment comes as the majority of hospitality IT decision-makers say AI is having a significant or transformative impact on the hotel industry, the report found. Catherine Donaldson, director of marketing at Canary Technologies, said in a March 19 release that “hoteliers gaining an edge today aren’t just considering AI, they’re building strategies and moving quickly to adopt it.”
Dive Insight:
Hotels that delay AI adoption in today’s day and age risk falling behind on reaping its benefits, according to Canary. In 2026, more than half (58%) of hoteliers will devote upwards of 10% of their IT budget to AI, the report found.
The top priorities driving increased hotel tech investment are improving the guest experience (52%), increasing efficiencies (52%), increasing revenue (51%) and reducing costs (45%), respondents said. Rising cost pressures remain a top concern for U.S. hoteliers, in particular, according to a separate report published by the American Hotel & Lodging Association earlier this month.
The increased investment also comes as a greater percentage of hoteliers see AI having an immediate impact on the hospitality industry, as compared to last year, per the Canary report.
As for where AI is having a business impact, the majority of respondents (58%) said guest communications will be the highest area of impact this year. Hotel discoverability, personalization for guests and direct bookings are also considered strong areas for change. Earlier this year, hospitality and technology experts told Hotel Dive that AI will likely begin to reshape hotel booking behavior in 2026.
Just over half of hoteliers (51%) are piloting or have adopted AI, the report found. Several major hotel companies, including Marriott International, have been actively investing in AI improvements over the last several months.
Despite more hotel owners embracing AI, they are also increasingly in need of greater guidance on how to convert early adoption into long-term returns, a recent report from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts found. The majority of U.S. hoteliers believe working with a major hotel brand is beneficial when it comes to implementing AI, per that report.
When it comes to AI adoption, the top challenges hoteliers face are data and privacy issues, integration barriers, limited training bandwidth and a lack of technical expertise, according to the Canary survey.
With data privacy presenting a major hurdle, hoteliers should consider finding “solutions that seamlessly share data, rely on trusted sources and meet global data protection and privacy standards,” according to Canary Technologies.
