AI for Hotels – Guest Experience & Personalisation
In our first article about AI in hospitality, we highlighted one of the hotel industry's biggest challenges: delivering true personalisation despite the fragmented systems many hotels still rely on today. Travellers expect instant responses and frictionless digital interactions before, during, and after their stay.
To bridge this gap, hoteliers are actively exploring two distinct digital transformation strategies: Conversational AI and Omnichannel Chatbots to enhance guest communication, and Unified Guest Management Platforms to centralise guest data and create a more connected journey.
1. Conversational AI: Enhancing Responsiveness
With the increasing maturity of Large Language Models (LLMs), hotels can now communicate instantly and natively in the guest's preferred language. Solutions such as Runnr.ai, Chatlyn.com and HiJiffy.com enable hotels to centralise guest communication through a single omnichannel inbox. Rather than managing conversations across multiple platforms separately, hotel teams can handle all guest interactions from one interface and respond efficiently using AI-generated replies based on FAQs and Standard Operating Procedures.
These platforms typically automate between 70% and 80% of guest enquiries across channels including website live chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, SMS, email, Booking.com messaging, Airbnb messaging, Expedia messaging, Google Business Profile messaging and phone communication. Chatlyn extends this coverage further by supporting Telegram, WeChat, LINE, and Rakuten Viber.
During recent research, I appreciated Chatlyn's adoption of the latest AI capabilities — the platform allows hotels to build automated messaging flows using AI prompts, reducing the reliance on traditional template builders. I also found it interesting that Runnr.ai can manage restaurant reservations directly within the conversation flow, eliminating the need to redirect guests to an external booking website.
Limitations of Conversational AI Platforms
Despite their strengths, pure conversational AI platforms still have limitations. HiJiffy offers upselling through third-party providers such as Oaky and UpsellGuru — creating additional revenue opportunities, but also contributing to the ongoing challenge of data fragmentation. Chatlyn does not currently offer fully two-way integration with PMS platforms such as Mews or Apaleo, meaning room upgrades are not possible and other upsells cannot be automatically synchronised back into the PMS.
Another limitation is that these platforms remain primarily focused on communication. Unlike platforms such as Duve.com or DigitalGuest.com, they do not yet provide a fully integrated guest web app experience designed to collect additional guest data, identifiers and behavioural insights that support deeper personalisation and greater operational automation.
2. Unified Guest Management Platforms: Automating Operations
A second approach focuses less on communication alone and more on centralising guest information throughout the entire guest journey. Platforms such as Duve and DigitalGuest are designed to collect more guest information before arrival, enabling hotels to provide more personalised recommendations while increasing revenue opportunities across departments such as restaurants, bars, spas, and activities.
Beyond personalisation and upselling, these platforms can also help reduce labour costs by automating operational processes. Digital registration cards, online check-in, automated guest messaging, mobile keys, digital invoices, and self-service guest applications can significantly reduce pressure on front office teams — particularly valuable during peak check-in periods, when reception teams are often under pressure and guests expect faster service with minimal waiting times.
Even when a reservation originates from OTAs such as Booking.com, hotels can still engage with guests through the platform's messaging system and encourage them to share their personal email address or telephone number, helping establish a more direct relationship rather than relying entirely on third-party channels.
Before Arrival
Unified guest management platforms can help hotels collect registration details in advance, reduce reception queues, offer upsells such as breakfast, parking, or room upgrades, and promote additional services before arrival.
During Stay
Once pre-check-in has been completed, guests can typically access a personalised guest web app — through which they may chat with hotel staff in their native language, access hotel information and local recommendations, request services, receive promotional offers, and access mobile room keys. This creates a significantly more connected and modern guest experience than relying solely on email or chat messaging channels.
An additional advantage: platforms can engage guests even when online check-in is not available — for example, guests travelling as part of a business group or tour operator booking can still access the guest app through QR codes displayed in rooms or throughout the property.
During Check-Out
AI and automation can also improve the departure experience. Prior to departure, hotels can collect estimated check-out times and automatically offer late check-out, airport transfers, taxi bookings, and additional services before departure. In theory, guests can also settle their bill entirely through the app — though this depends heavily on system integrations, requiring all revenue-generating outlets to be correctly connected to the PMS and payment systems.
Duve also includes a communication hub, although its channel coverage is currently more limited — supporting web app chat, SMS, WhatsApp, email, Booking.com messaging and Airbnb messaging, but not yet Expedia messaging or Google Business Profile messaging.
3. The Importance of Integrations
Ultimately, the success of any AI-driven guest experience depends less on the AI itself and more on how well hotel systems communicate with one another. This is where platforms such as Duve position themselves particularly well — integrating with a broad range of hospitality systems including PMS providers, mobile key solutions, payment systems, task management software such as Flexkeeping, and POS systems such as Oracle Simphony and Oracle Hospitality Infrasys.
The broader the integration ecosystem, the easier it becomes to create a genuinely connected guest experience. This is one of the key reasons why most hotels should avoid building their own custom AI chatbot solution.
4. Final Thoughts
AI in hospitality is no longer simply about adding a chatbot to a hotel website. The real value comes from creating a connected digital ecosystem where communication, guest preferences, operational systems, and personalisation work together seamlessly.
Over time, the greatest benefits are likely to come from platforms that combine AI-powered communication with unified guest management — addressing a broader set of challenges than communication alone.
Have you worked with platforms such as HiJiffy, Chatlyn, Runnr.ai, Duve or DigitalGuest? As AI adoption accelerates across hospitality, real-world feedback and operational outcomes are often more valuable than vendor claims.