By Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHBA, President and CEO, Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI)
Discussion of artificial intelligence (AI) seems ubiquitous these days. Many of our Advisory Boards and Rising Leader Councils have held spirited discussions on the topic in the last few months. We’re all familiar with existing AI tools such as virtual assistants, chatbots and automated booking processes. But, over the last 6 months, generative AI has rapidly evolved and entered our collective consciousness. I heard a quote recently that right now generative AI results are about 10% IN-accurate, but that percentage is likely to quickly decline as technology advances, making it an even more powerful tool.
What is Generative AI?
Let’s back up a little. The definition of artificial intelligence (AI) is “the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages.” While generative AI, according to McKinsey, “describes algorithms (such as ChatGPT) that can be used to create new content, including audio, code, images, text, simulations, and videos.”
10 Use Cases
Generative AI has many use cases for hospitality sales and marketers, especially in improving efficiency in content creation. Here are 10 possible uses:
- Market
- Brainstorm
- Translate
- Summarize
- Transform
- Understand
- Interact
- Create
- Refine
- Produce code
Going Further
Aside from content, some of the most exciting applications of generative AI are improving processes and synthesizing data. According to a Harvard Business Review article, companies need to rethink everything:
To get substantial value from AI, your organization must fundamentally rethink the way that humans and machines interact in work environments. You should focus on applications that will change how employees perform and how customers interact with your company. You should consider systematically deploying AI across every key function and operation to support new processes and data-driven decision-making. Likewise, AI should drive new product and service offerings and business models. In other words, the technology should eventually transform every aspect of your business.
Generative AI is rapidly becoming an asset in the hospitality industry. It can quickly help improve efficiency, identify customer trends and preferences, and create an even more personalized experience for guests. To get the full benefit of the new technology, however, hotel companies will need to spend time and money to rethink their business processes and invest in technology solutions.
We’ll continue to monitor and discuss best practices, uses and case studies of AI in hospitality commercial functions, and we’ll be sure to share them with you here.
