It has written a lot about the possibilities of AI in hospitality. In particular, the promise is to enhance customer journeys, reduce operational costs and alleviate staff shortages. However, from a broader perspective, it can be argued that AI could ultimately become the sector's most powerful growth driver, but not necessarily the most predicted method. And the path to this opportunity can be very intense.
The immediate application of AI within hospitality is already convincing. For example, customer service can be dramatically improved at some cost through an AI-driven help desk. Another emergence – although not yet widespread, the example is that AI acts as a personal travel agency. In such a scenario, travelers simply convey their preferences and dates, while AI organizes everything: flights, hotels, tours, and even visa arrangements. Full automation of this process is still not possible at all destinations, but the possibility is clear (and threatening to online travel agents!). Marketing is another fertile ground. For example, restaurants can use AI to forecast demand, adjust menus, and dynamically adjust pricing. AI can also create and manage advertising campaigns, identify promising products and services, and optimize locations.
The Finance Department has been transformed in the same way. AI can create financial and ESG statements, build budgets, submit taxes, draft documents, prepare prospectus, and even navigate grant applications. Legal teams can use AI to draft contracts that require only the final human review, while litigation defense can be prepared faster and more comprehensively, but the same advantages apply to lawyers who are at odds with conflicting. The list of possibilities seems endless.
Of course, such scenarios are not limited to hospitality. They resonate across many industries. However, AI also accelerates deeper and long-standing social trends: diluting human connections.
Technological changes such as the Internet and smartphones are already reconstructing not only how, when, and how we interact, but also how, and when, and how. More and more, humans often spend their time on screens at the expense of genuine personal connections. AI is currently threatening to overcharge this trajectory. Paradoxically, it also brings people back to each other.
This is why.
When AI composes music, writes scripts and novels, generates news and opinions, and social platforms flood with synthetic content, people struggle to believe in what they encounter or to believe in relationships. With AI infiltrating almost every aspect of everyday life, it is not unreasonable to expect conflict. The more society is mediated by AI, the more individuals will long for credibility, truth, and real human contact. In short, people start to cherish people again.
How does this manifest? The most reasonable outcome is the rise of small communities or “tribes” organized around common interests and beliefs, such as sports, arts, music, religion, philanthropy, environmentalism, and self-development. Within these groups, members seek experiences that promote both human connection and personal meaning.
This is truly a place where hospitality shines. Restaurants and bars may regain their historical role as important social centres. Hotels, tour operators and related businesses act as facilitators. It curates experiences connecting tribes across borders and fostering human bonds. In this way, hospitality can become a kind of cultural anchor, helping humanity maintain meaning in an AI-saturated world. Therefore, the potential market is huge.
Still, a journey to this vision can be challenging. The disruptive power of AI is already evident in the labor market. A recent survey by Allianz Trade shows that 60% of white-collar jobs in the Netherlands could be evacuated within five years. The Dutch economy has its own unique characteristics, but it is reasonable to expect significant changes in all developed countries.
Confusion is nothing new. For example, we have shaped industrialization, for example the previous economy, but the enormous speed of change today is unprecedented. The pace of AI progress can outweigh the adaptive capabilities of many workers.
In this sense, AI deserves its reputation as the most disruptive technology ever created. MIT Professor Max Tegmark explains Life 3.0: Being a human in the age of artificial intelligence,When one AI learns, all AI learns. They hold knowledge indefinitely, constantly build on it, and reinvent themselves in rapid cycles. Humans evolve over decades. AI evolves every day.
How society will adapt remains uncertain. AI could solve years of productivity challenges, but human labor mobility could drag the economy in the short and medium term. Whether new employment emerges at PACE or policies such as Universal Basic Income are implemented will determine how quickly hospitality can fully seize AI-driven opportunities. However, during that time, the industry could face weakening its customer base and lower demand.
In short, the sweets may last well, but only after a rather sour one.
Alexander Sassen
Instructor Finance & ESG, Hotelschool the Hague
HotelSchool The Hague
