As artificial intelligence continues to transform the hospitality industry, one industry veteran believes hotels have some work to do to evolve from "AI-ready" to "AI-enabled."
Jeff Bzdawka, who was named CEO of hotel technology company Hapi earlier this year, proposes that instead of viewing technology as the solution, hotels should start with the fundamentals: data.
The average hotel often has up to 30 different operating systems, which can complicate data integration and hinder its ability to work with AI, Bzdawka said. But he believes hotels can address this by harmonizing data and getting these various systems to talk to one another.
At the NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum in New York City last week, Bzdawka sat down with Hotel Dive to discuss why AI only works with the right data set and the importance of aligning the technology with business needs.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
HOTEL DIVE: What is it going to take for hospitality to not get behind on the AI front?
JEFF BZDAWKA: The hospitality industry is often behind when it comes to embracing technology, and I think that is part of the challenge with what I’ll call AI readiness, let alone AI enablement. Everyone’s talking about artificial intelligence, and unfortunately, I think the problem started with technology as being the solution and starting with technology versus starting with the business challenge.
AI is really a force multiplier, but it needs to sit on top of a solid data set. Part of the challenge is that we’re starting to see the impact of the somewhat slowness to adopt technology. The industry is still a bit behind in getting their arms around the data set. If you look at your average hotel, it probably has upwards of 30 different operating systems that need to come together to be able to care for and service the guests. So the first piece is interconnectivity, ensuring systems are talking together and that data is flowing freely between the systems.
As you look at the existing operating system and you want to layer AI on top of that, you need to ensure you have access to the data and that ingestion is very easy. When the data is coming in, you can’t just bring the data as-is. There is a certain homogenization or normalization of the data layer itself to ensure that whatever you put on top of the operating system, so your AI can make sense of the data itself. AI being a smart force multiplier, if it doesn’t have access to data, it can’t give you actual insights. If it has access to the wrong data or disparate data, it can function in a completely different dimension.
The holy grail of hospitality is to create that personal connection with the guests. In order for the hoteliers to be able to care for and service the guest, they need to know who you are and understand you. Data ingestion, data normalization, data storage in a place that can be easily accessible. Once the hotel has that data set in place, you can start activating that data and taking action and getting those actionable insights, and that’s where you go from being AI-ready to truly being AI-enabled.
In order for AI to truly be enabled, the food or the fuel is data, and having access to data, the right data at the right time.
Jeff Bzdawka
Hapi CEO
It’s not just in hospitality, but [businesses] want to jump to the solution immediately without understanding what it’s going to take.
Should there be any guardrails in place or anything to prevent AI from taking away from those personal connections?
Hospitality is about people caring for people, but also what we need to do as hoteliers is recognize that you want to enable choice. Some guests may not want that personal introduction, yet you want to ensure that you’re selling the right product, right experience to the guest. It’s getting the information to the point of action or point of experience. A guest may choose to bypass the front desk and go to a kiosk. AI can enable both. Basically, it’s an enablement of choice is what AI actually does and sitting on that right piece of data.
For that person-to-person connection, it’s getting that timely data, the timely actionable insights to the property who is actually caring for the guests at that moment in time. Whether we bring in artificial intelligence that brings in facial recognition, then it’s a layer on top of the data set — so you can be welcomed by name when you come to the front desk, and your reservation is pre-populated for the person who’s servicing you.
With the combination of AI right on top of the data, it enables a conversation and a personal interaction versus that transaction. Every brand here wants to be differentiated but it’s hard to do that. The point of differentiation is creating those personalized moments and creating experiences. That’s where AI in combination with the data enables those experiences, whether you’re interacting with a device like this or if you’re having personal connections.
If you could change one belief that hotel tech leaders hold right now, what would that be and why?
Start with the business focus. Start with what is that experience you want and then start small, start with a single experience. Technology is like the old saying, it’s not a hand you’re looking for. You need to start with business conversations. You start with not the technology but with an understanding of the business experience, the guest experience, the owner experience, the colleague experience. What friction points are there and how do you use the technology to get to that end game. You’re not doing technology for technology’s sake.
With the combination of AI right on top of the data, it enables a conversation and a personal interaction versus that transaction.
Jeff Bzdawka
Hapi CEO
Many of my peer groups start with selling tech providers and that’s the wrong way. You need to align with the business and start small with a single use case. And then growing and expanding from it.
