What Hotels Can, and Need to Do to Gain an Advantage or Stay Ahead Using AI in 2025/2026

In the quest to stay ahead, maximizing revenue and effectively targeting high-value guests is crucial, and AI is quickly becoming the secret weapon of forward-thinking hotel marketers and revenue managers. Gone are the days of fixed prices and mass marketing. Today, AI algorithms can analyze massive data sets in seconds, detect patterns and opportunities that humans might miss, and even act on them in real time. This means hotels can Adapt to market changes instantly And customize their sales approach to each guest like never before. Let’s take a look at how AI can elevate the marketing and revenue strategies of competitive hotels:

Dynamic pricing and return optimization

Determining the “right price” for a hotel room has always been a combination of art and science. Now, artificial intelligence is firmly tipping the balance in science, with impressive results. AI-based revenue management systems (RMS) can continuously adjust room rates based on real-time supply and demand signals, far beyond the ability of a human team to monitor a few reports. These systems analyze historical booking data, current frequency, competitor rates, local event schedules, and even weather forecasts to find the perfect price point at any given moment. Hotels in the UK and around the world have adopted AI-powered pricing platforms such as Duetto and IdeaS Automate price adjustments 24/7This ensures that prices are raised to take advantage of the increasing demand or reduced to stimulate bookings during the weak period. For example, if a big concert is announced in town, the AI ​​may immediately detect an increase in website traffic and competitors’ rising prices, and respond by moderately increasing your prices to maximize revenue while remaining competitive. Conversely, if bookings slow, you may post targeted discounts for specific dates or specific room types that need a boost. Speed ​​is key: AI can react within minutes to changes that a manual revenue manager might address in a few days. The reward is great. One survey found that 63% of companies integrating AI into operations reported revenue increases, underscoring how dynamic pricing and other AI techniques directly improve the bottom line. In fact, nearly 70% of hotel revenue managers now rely on AI tools to make real-time pricing decisions. By leveraging AI for dynamic pricing, hotels can consistently sell the right room to the right customer at the right time and price, which reduces the additional revenue that competitors may leave on the table. It’s an arms race. If your hotel doesn’t do it, you can bet that the big luxury chain across the street does, and they’ll have a revenue advantage as a result.

Demand forecasting and business mix optimization

In addition to daily price adjustments, AI helps predict long-term demand and recommend the best business mix. Traditional revenue management has often been reactive, but AI is making it proactive. It can forecast occupancy and booking curves for the coming months with much greater accuracy by analyzing a myriad of factors (booking lead times, overall trends, flight search data, etc.). These forecasts allow hotels to plan promotions and distribution strategies in advance. For example, if AI predicts a slow decline in in-season international travelers but an increase in domestic weekend getaways, the hotel might shift marketing spending to local markets or create offers to entice nearby luxury travelers. On the other hand, if an unusual spike in demand is expected during an upcoming holiday, it may happen Close discounted channels early And focus on bookings with the highest prices. AI doesn’t just predict overall occupancy; It can also break it down by channel or sector, which tells you whether corporate travel is likely to rise, or whether wedding groups will make up a larger share in the next quarter. Marriott InternationalBonvoy’s AI initiative allows natural language searches such as “beach destination with kids club in July” and uses AI to show matching availability, indicating how understanding demand patterns can impact product offerings. By trusting AI-based insights, hotels can make smarter, faster decisions on revenue and marketing allocations than competitors who still rely on intuition or outdated spreadsheets. The result is Fewer empty rooms at slow times and fewer guests turned away at peak timesThat is, increasing RevPAR (revenue per available room) and market share.

Personal marketing and selling

AI’s prowess in pattern recognition is a boon for hotel marketing teams aiming for just that Know their guests And target them effectively. Instead of one-size-fits-all promotions, AI is enabling them Highly personalized marketingDelivering the right message or offer to the right guest at the right time. how? By analyzing guest demographics, their previous stay behavior, purchase history, and even social media or online behavior, AI can segment guests into precise personas and predict what they are likely to respond to. For example, AI might identify a segment of spa-loving guests who typically stay for weekend getaways, and automatically send them a personalized offer for a discounted spa package on an off-peak weekend. Another guest who regularly dines at the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant may receive an exclusive invitation to a tasting menu before their next stay. These are not guesses. They are data-driven recommendations formulated by AI algorithms that learn what works. HiltonFor example, an AI-based personalization engine uses past guest data to suggest amenities or experiences that a particular guest is likely to like (whether it’s golf outings or a specific type of pillow). Results? Guests feel Understood And their value, they are more likely to accept offers that they feel are handpicked for them, leading to increased revenue and loyalty. Upselling is getting smarter, too: AI can be integrated into booking engines or check-in kiosks to recommend room upgrades or add-ons that a guest is statistically more likely to accept (for example, offering a breakfast package to a guest who purchased it last time, or a family suite for someone traveling with children). This level of intelligent marketing was once difficult to achieve manually at scale, but AI has made it routine. In fact, the adoption of AI and machine learning for personal interactions with customers has risen dramatically. 65% of organizations worldwide will use some form of AI personalization by 2024. Upscale hotels that excel at personalized marketing will build a stronger relationship with their customers and extract greater value for each guest, outperforming competitors who are still stuck bombarding generic ads or upsells. Bottom line: AI-targeted marketing leads to higher conversion rates, more direct bookings, and greater guest lifetime value.

Enhance online reputation management

In the luxury hotel industry, your reputation is everything. Today, that reputation lives largely online, in guest reviews, social media posts, and polls. Managing this deluge of feedback and leveraging it for improvement is an area specifically designed to help AI. Machine learning tools can audit Thousands of guest reviews across platforms (TripAdvisor, Google, OTA reviews) In seconds, perform sentiment analysis to identify trends. For example, an AI might analyze 2,000 reviews and discover that mentions of “noise” correlate with lower ratings, suggesting that quiet rooms are a stronger driver of satisfaction than a hotel’s spa facilities. Such insights are golden: Management can act by investing in soundproofing or adjusting room assignments for light sleepers, thus boosting future guest satisfaction in ways that competitors may not realize are important. AI can sort reviews by topic (rooms, food, service, cleanliness, etc.) and by sentiment (positive, neutral, negative), producing clear dashboards about areas where a hotel excels and where it needs work, far superior to manually reading reviews and recording complaints.

Not only can AI analyze comments; Automatic responses to reviews In a controlled and high-quality manner. Many luxury properties struggle to respond to every review promptly, especially when they receive tens of thousands annually. Edwardian hotels london (Operator of several high-end hotels, incl Londoner and May Fair) faced this particular challenge, performing over 10,000 reviews per year across languages, and turned to an AI solution to help manage it. Using our AI-powered Reputation Management (MARA) tool, they can now get… Pre-draft AI-written review responses overnightready for staff to approve or modify every morning. Artificial intelligence takes care of the translation process, so that a review in Japanese can be understood and responded to in English, or vice versa, without delay. The system also preserves each property’s brand voice and inserts smart snippets (such as mentions of the hotel name or amenities) to keep responses private. Impact? Edwardian hotels Save “thousands of hours” of employee time and improve the speed and consistency of their responses. Every guest now feels heard and usually gets a thoughtful response quickly, enhancing the hotel’s online reputation for responsiveness. Another example: A UK resort reported achieving a 93% response rate to online reviews using an AI-powered system, with average response times of less than one minute and a monthly time savings of 20 hours for staff. These types of metrics would be impossible without AI. By adopting AI in reputation management, high-end hotels ensure this No guest reviews fall through the cracksIssues are addressed before they escalate, and potential customers experience active engagement. In a market where a single 3-star review can prevent anyone from booking in the future, attentive, AI-powered reputation management is a serious competitive advantage.

Market intelligence and competitive analysis

AI can also act as an always-on-you market analyst, constantly tracking competitors, prices, and travel trends. Instead of manually checking competitor rates or relying on monthly market reports, an AI tool can monitor competitor hotel rates in real-time and even search the web for signals of demand (such as a spike in flight bookings to your city, or important event announcements). this See the market in real time It allows you to react quickly, for example, if a competitor suddenly fills up on sales and closes them, your AI can detect this increase and suggest raising your prices or pushing your hotel into the channels to pick up the excess. AI may also notice if a competing hotel in your area is having a flash sale or if its customers’ sentiments are affected online, which could be an opportunity for you to adjust your marketing to seize market share. By constantly learning from broader market data, AI helps hotels expected Periods of high demand (perhaps an upcoming festival or conference) and adjust strategies accordingly (such as creating a package or minimum accommodation requirements), rather than realizing it too late. Essentially, AI acts as an “extra member” of your strategy team that never sleeps, ingesting data and feeding you actionable intelligence. Hotels using these AI-based insights can outperform competitors by always being one step ahead in pricing, promotions and positioning. In an industry as dynamic as hospitality, this… Flexibility, powered by AI, can translate into increased occupancy and revenue generation, which others don’t miss out on.

In short, AI is enabling hotels to sell smarter and market more effectively. It’s like giving your revenue manager a supercomputer assistant and your marketing team a clairvoyant data expert. The competitive instinct among hoteliers should be stimulated when one considers: If your property is not using these AI tools, Maybe your competitor is too (Or will be soon). They’ll be the ones to appear first in search results with perfectly targeted ads, win direct bookings with personalized offers, respond to reviews before your morning coffee, and adjust their room rates quickly. Meanwhile, you’re stuck in a weekly meeting. Fortunately, the tools are accessible, and even luxury independent companies or small chains can adopt AI solutions (many of which are cloud-based and scalable). By harnessing AI for marketing and revenue management, you are positioning your hotel for the better Capture demand and guest loyalty before the setFilling rooms at optimal rates, keeping customers happy and engaged, and ultimately achieving superior financial performance.