Touchless check-ins. Voice-activated room controls. AI concierges that remember your favorite drink. In the hospitality industry, which is about warmth and personal service, AI rapidly moves from the back end to guest-facing experiences. And there, a new conundrum has emerged: Can the warmth and cultural richness that define exceptional hospitality coexist with automation?

Christoph Mares, CEO of Boutique Group, emphasizes that while AI systems help curate experiences and streamline in-room controls through voice activation, the soul of service remains human.

“The success of luxury hospitality lies in knowing what guests want before they do,” Mares explains. “But the execution—that final delivery—is always done by our colleagues. Empathy and intuition can’t be automated.”

HOW AI QUIETLY TRANSFORMS TRAVEL

In the B2B travel space, platforms like RateHawk are proving that AI’s power is often felt most behind the scenes. CEO Felix Shpilman points to predictive models, such as RateHawk’s booking cancellation forecast engine built in 2013, which help agents avoid costly service failures by verifying hotel reservations in advance.

“The complexity of the travel purchase won’t go away,” Shpilman says. “AI helps us manage that complexity, but doesn’t eliminate the need for people. If anything, it empowers them.”

From rate optimization tools to AI-augmented quoting systems, RateHawk is building out systems that help agents serve travelers faster and more accurately—without automating them out of the picture.

“We’re not replacing agents—we’re building tools they wouldn’t otherwise have access to,” says Shpilman. “They do the human work. AI just helps them do it better.”

ETHICS AT THE FOREFRONT

As AI tools become more ubiquitous, concerns about privacy and transparency grow. Shpilman warns against the casual integration of consumer-facing AI without strong data safeguards.

“Everyone building with AI has to carry the burden of guardrails,” he says. “From Slack bots to public-facing tools, we’re strict about how data is used. And being globally compliant is non-negotiable.”

For Mares, data privacy is foundational. AI tools that collect guest preferences or history are only activated with consent and are always in service of proactive personalization, not surveillance.

CAN AI FEEL HUMAN?

Antix, a company pushing the boundaries of Web3, AI, and gaming technologies and building hyper-realistic AI-powered humans, works with a growing global client base, including the hospitality industry.

One early example was a virtual chef launched in 2020, allowing restaurant guests to interact with a digital version of the real chef.

“People think hyper-realistic AI is sterile,” founder Roman Cyganov says. “But our avatars don’t just look human—they feel human. They pick up on tone and mood and can even mirror body language to make interactions feel natural.”

Despite limitations in early tech, feedback was overwhelmingly positive—proof, Cyganov says, that guests do want emotional engagement from digital platforms as long as it feels genuine.

Drawing from a background in film with brands like HBO and Netflix, Antix applies storytelling and visual nuance to its AI interfaces. The result? Avatars that don’t just answer questions but connect.

“We’re not building software. We’re building experiences,” says Cyganov. “Every interaction is a scene. Every guest, a story.”

PRESERVING THE SOUL OF SERVICE

Whether it’s a virtual concierge trained to suggest a café based on a guest’s mood or a real-life butler empowered by AI-driven data, the core of luxury travel remains unchanged: it’s still about people. All three leaders agree technology should make hospitality more human—not less.

“There’s a temptation to think AI can do it all,” says Mares. “But you can’t automate warmth. That comes from passionate, empathetic people.”

Cyganov adds that AI isn’t replacing the soul of service—it’s amplifying it. “We automate the routine so humans can focus on being present.”

And from Shpilman’s point of view, the real power of AI lies in supporting—not supplanting—the people who make travel work. “There’s no cause for concern. In travel, the human role isn’t going anywhere.”

The message is clear: AI will become more sophisticated and embedded in hospitality. But technology will remain the quiet partner—not the main event.