The Promised Use of AI For “Personalization” Is Being Oversold: True Personalization Requires A Person! | By Doug Kennedy

Note: This post is excerpted from Doug Kennedy’s recent training webcast titled "Understanding What Personalized Hospitality Is (and What It Isn't!)", watch the replay here.

Personalization is a term used loosely these days, especially in the hospitality industry, and perhaps a better phrase for how it’s actually being used so far might be “contextualized marketing”.

Huge investments are being driven by questionable “survey results” showing that guests want AI-powered automation, often with few details on the survey population or methodology.

What’s more concerning is that the end-game solutions being thrown around are just not operationally feasible, and in the end, might feel like a creepy invasion of privacy. In scanning a selection of recent articles, I’ve identified a few of the most often promised innovations, along with some of the operational challenges.

Customized Room Temperature Settings

This one is tossed around a lot, but let’s think it through. First, let’s assume that there is a smart thermostat in the guest room that will provide the data of the actual settings a guest uses and that it is integrated with an API connection to the PMS system, which then stores, aggregates the data, and feeds it back to the thermostat of the guest’s room on arrival. Seems feasible so far, although probably still a technical reach. Using myself as an example, the data would show that I prefer the room to be on the colder side, especially at night. Now, let’s assume that on a repeat visit, I bring along my wife, who would be freezing cold upon entering the room.

Customized Pillow Preferences

This one also seems feasible in writing, assuming that enough guests call to request specific types of pillows during their first stay so that the data could be somehow captured. Again, using myself as an example, the data would show that I like the fluffiest pillow available, but if I’m traveling with my wife, she would not be pleased, as she likes a slim, flat version. Perhaps an “analogue” solution might be much better and easier; join the many hotels that already put a selection of pillows ranging from fluffy to flat, from foam to feather, in guest rooms.

Your Favorite Drink Awaits

Another one I read a lot about is that AI can enable hotels to have a guest’s favorite cocktail waiting in their room on arrival. Again, seems feasible, but operationally? Although many hotels ask for arrival times, what percentage of guests accurately provide them? How much staffing will be required to hurriedly get the drink into the room from the time guests enter the lobby and walk into their room? Are we charging guests for these drinks or adding them to the room rate? What if they are doing a “Dry January,” or are on a temporary diet restriction?

AI In The Restaurant

Speaking of dietary restrictions, another promise of AI is that restaurants will know about any allergies based on a previous stay. Is this going to negate the need to ask guests? Are we going to be confident enough in the data and process to stop asking?

How about this one… “You can even ensure that guests get their favorite table and even adapt the lighting and music to their preferences.” Okay, the favorite table seems feasible. But the music? Are we going to pass out headphones so each guest can listen privately to their favorite tracks? Put a spotlight on each table with an automated dimmer mechanism pulling data – from where?

In The Guest Room

AI advocates talk about guests walking into their room to find a list of activities, or special furnishings, based on your social media history. Personally speaking, by the time I enter a guest room while on vacation, my itinerary is already planned, or I can always consult AI on my own smartphone, using better prompts to get better results. Also, this one starts to feel creepy to me, if a hotel went as far as to stalk my social profiles. Realistically, offering these “extras” based on social media only seems operationally feasible to the luxury segments, yet from what I hear, the uber-wealthy are the least likely to have public social media profiles.

Now, lest I be tagged as the “anti-AI guy”, let me clearly say that today’s hospitality leaders DO need to fully embrace AI and utilize it in practical ways. Here are a few of the many things that AI does well:

• Assigning cleaning schedules and “breaking out the house” for housekeeping.
• Organizing and scheduling “long-term maintenance” tasks.
• Assisting with rate changes powered by dynamic pricing.
• Forecasting, budgeting, and reports.
• Blocking rooms for special requests.
• Fielding easy, routine questions.
• Fulfilling simple requests such as confirming a dining reservation, tee time, or transportation request.

On the other hand, let’s stop thinking about AI as the key to personalized guest experiences and instead spend that time and energy training and inspiring our staff.

If you study the etymology of the word “personalization,” it seems clear that a true sense of “personalization” must be created by a real, live person! (Just ask AI to search the definition!)

The reality is that humans are by nature social creatures. According to the famous anthropologist Margaret Mead, the first sign of civilization was the finding of a healed femur bone, indicating that someone was cared for long enough for the bone to heal, and demonstrating the cooperation and compassion of a community.

Therefore, as the human “touch points” in a guest’s “cycle of service” continue to be eliminated, those that remain are ever more important. What we should be doing is training staff to seek out and make the most out of everyday “micro encounters,” which present the true opportunities to create personalized hospitality vibes.

Truly personalized guest experiences that happen when:

• Any associate looks up as you pass by, holds eye contact smiles genuinely, and uses a welcoming greeting;
• A housekeeper who sees children’s clothing and toys in the room and leaves you extra towels. Or, one that notices you specifically use all the decaf K-Cups and none of the others, then leaves you extra;
• A front desk associate reads your pre-arrival comments and says: Welcome back! I see this is your third visit! We truly appreciate your business.
• Any human staff member who recommends a specific entrée or dessert from in-house dining or offers a “local insider’s tip” on something special to eat, see, or do during your stay.
• Anyone on the team asks, Are you having an excellent stay? in a way that shows they really want to know. Or when someone notices you are leaving, waves, smiles, and says something original or specific to your situation, making you really WANT to do a review without prompting.

While AI and automation can do so many good things to improve operational efficiency, real personalized service isn't about algorithms - it's about genuine human connections.