Lodging Managers

Lodging managers handle many roles in hotels, from answering guest questions and coordinating staff to monitoring budgets ^[1]. Many of these duties are already helped by technology today. For example, hotels use chatbots or digital assistants to answer routine guest inquiries, and small robots can now deliver items like towels or snacks to rooms ^{[2] [3]}.

Managers also use software to crunch numbers – tasks like forecasting room demand and setting prices are often done by computer systems instead of by hand. Still, experts note that these AI tools mainly cover predictable work. Studies point out that robots in hotels usually “provide information or … deliver items” but “cannot yet mimic humans in emotional terms” ^[2].

In other words, upset guests or complex special requests still need a real person. In short, technology can take care of routine chores, but human managers are needed for the caring and creative parts of the job.

Hotels are adopting AI tools for various reasons, but the pace varies. One big driver is the labor crunch: many hotel managers report staff burnout and shortages, so any technology that helps with scheduling, training or recruitment is welcome ^[3]. The pandemic also pushed hotels to add contactless features – for example, guests can now use apps or AI kiosks to check in and ask questions without waiting in line ^[2].

Budget and mid-range hotels are often quicker to try robots or AI assistants, since a little automation can save costs ^[2]. However, hotels balance these benefits against cost and guest experience. Buying and running AI systems can be expensive, so many start small.

And if technology seems to remove all human contact, customers and workers resist – unions insist that new tools should help staff, not just cut them out ^[3]. In practice, hotels focus AI on simplifying routine tasks (like smart scheduling or FAQs) and let people handle the personal touch.