ROUNDTABLE
Chris Cheney, EVP of commercial strategy at Stonebridge Companies
Asked what AI had replaced, his answer was immediate.“ Reports, phone calls, trying to go through things, getting prepared for presentations.” The point, he said, is not that AI replaces people. It removes administrative work so employees
can focus on guests and teams.
Wilson echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that AI still requires human context.“ It takes human intelligence to understand what actually happened on property that produced the data in the first place,” he said.“ You need that human intelligence to understand how the data even makes it into the report.”
LOOKING AHEAD The roundtable concluded with a question about wish-list data— the one piece of information each executive would most like to have.
The answers reflected the industry’ s focus on improving decision-making. Cariss pointed to marketing attribution and better understanding return on marketing spend. Wilson wanted greater access to airline data. Cheney again highlighted key-lock information, arguing that understanding how guests actually use hotel amenities could help hotels differentiate themselves beyond price and location.
“ One of my biggest fears is that our hotels become commodities and everything is based on price and location,” Cheney said.“ Lock system data tells us whether guests are actually engaging with the experiences we’ ve created. It helps us understand how different traveler types use the hotel so we can build products guests genuinely want. That gives us pricing power.”
AI will eventually transform hospitality, but the revolution will not be powered by algorithms alone. It will require clean, connected data, integrated technology systems, clear accountability and organizations willing to change.
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68 hotelsmag. com September 2026