AI in Hospitality: In 2026, It’s No Longer About the Buzz — It’s About Real Use Cases
Artificial intelligence is everywhere. But in hospitality and foodservice, the real question is no longer whether AI will transform the industry. The question is how it can deliver concrete value in day-to-day operations.
This was the focus of a panel discussion at Food Hotel Tech, featuring David Poprawka, Innovation Strategist – Hospitality at Infor, Nicolas El Hakim, President of Restaurateurs Île-de-France, Pôle d’Excellence du Tourisme – UMIH Île-de-France, Céline Gaubert, COO at Best Western International, and Grégory Derderian, Chief Digital Officer at Big Mamma Group. The session was moderated by Guilain Denisselle, Editor-in-Chief of Tendance Hôtellerie.
Their shared message was clear: AI is no longer an innovation topic reserved for major groups. It is becoming an operational tool serving teams, performance, and customer experience.
AI Is Already Inside Hospitality Businesses
For many hotels and restaurants, the first benefits are already visible.
For independent restaurants, Nicolas El Hakim uses AI to respond to customer reviews, create social media posts, and build Google Ads campaigns. These are time-consuming tasks that can now be handled in just a few minutes.
At Big Mamma, the approach is more industrial. Teams use AI to analyse thousands of customer reviews, automatically build integrations between software systems, and support HR, accounting, and operations teams with repetitive daily tasks.
At Best Western, artificial intelligence has been gradually implemented for around 18 months. The objective is not to reinvent every working method overnight, but to help teams evolve step by step.
As Céline Gaubert summed it up:
“AI is not a strategy, it is a journey.”
The Most Useful Use Cases Are Often the Simplest
The speakers agreed on one point: businesses should not try to transform everything at once.
The most effective use cases are often the simplest:
- responding to customer reviews;
- creating marketing content;
- improving visibility on search engines and generative AI platforms;
- automating certain phone reservations;
- helping administrative teams with repetitive tasks.
For David Poprawka, hotels also have a major opportunity in revenue management.
AI can analyse market data, adjust pricing, and optimise upselling and upgrade opportunities. These are already mature use cases that can produce tangible results.
Data Is Becoming the Real Strategic Asset
All speakers returned to the same core idea: without reliable data, AI is almost useless.
Scattered information, disconnected software systems, incomplete customer databases, and poorly structured processes all limit the value AI can deliver.
For Grégory Derderian, the priority is not to multiply AI tools, but to build a strong foundation:
- clean data;
- connected systems;
- consistent processes.
This groundwork is essential before any meaningful automation can take place.
At Big Mamma, teams spend time with each department to identify the most time-consuming tasks before building AI-powered solutions that actually solve real problems.
Customer Experience Must Remain Human
AI can help personalise service, but it cannot replace hospitality.
David Poprawka reminded the audience that customer expectations are rising quickly. Guests now expect hotels to use their data intelligently.
Why offer a bottle of wine to a guest who does not drink wine? Why fail to anticipate room preferences or stay habits when those preferences are already known?
However, personalisation must remain subtle. The human relationship remains the heart of hospitality.
AI should enrich that relationship, not replace it.
AI Agents Open a New Chapter
Beyond chatbots, the panel also discussed the rise of AI agents.
Unlike a chatbot, which answers questions, an AI agent can carry out a sequence of actions: retrieve information from several systems, make a reservation, update data, or trigger operational tasks.
To put it simply:
- the LLM is the brain;
- the agent is the hands.
This evolution could lead to much deeper automation of hospitality workflows in the coming years.
Training Teams Is Now Essential
One of the strongest takeaways from the discussion was that providing a tool is not enough.
Teams need to learn how to use it.
At Best Western and Big Mamma, AI adoption is driven through concrete use cases. Teams share experiments, discover new applications, and learn how to write better prompts.
The goal is not to train employees on one specific tool. It is to build a culture of experimentation.
Because AI tools evolve so quickly, purely technical training can become outdated almost immediately.
Cybersecurity and Confidentiality Cannot Be Ignored
The rise of AI also raises important questions around data protection.
The speakers recommended avoiding free AI tools for sensitive information and prioritising professional solutions that offer stronger guarantees around security and compliance.
They also pointed out that hospitality and foodservice businesses are increasingly attractive targets for cyberattacks.
Before implementing advanced AI use cases, companies need:
- up-to-date software;
- clear access governance;
- teams trained on phishing risks;
- an adapted cybersecurity policy.
The Best Advice: Start Now
The conclusion of the panel was clear.
No one knows exactly what AI will look like in two years.
But businesses that start experimenting today, structure their data, and support their teams will have a significant head start.
As Grégory Derderian put it:
“Don’t wait. Block time every week to test AI. You’ll quickly see that the tasks taking hours today will move much faster.”
And David Poprawka closed with a message everyone could agree on:
“AI is important, but humanity is even more important. In hospitality, technology will never replace the quality of human relationships.”