Mews Research Shows Widespread AI Adoption in Hotels, Emphasizes Need for Human Touch

A survey conducted by Mews between December 2025 and March 2026 across more than 500 hotel properties globally found that artificial intelligence is now widely integrated into hotel operations. According to the findings, 98% of hoteliers reported using AI in their operations within the last six months. On average, AI is involved in 11 of the 19 most common hotel tasks and manages more than half of the workload in those tasks. The adoption of AI spans departments, including front office, commercial, food and beverage, and leadership, with the highest levels of use reported in upper-midscale, upscale, and luxury properties.

Despite the broad adoption of AI, the survey found that 59% of hoteliers believe the front desk welcome and check-in process should remain led by human staff. This view is especially prevalent among properties with extensive AI usage, indicating a distinction between tasks suitable for automation and those that require direct human interaction.

The Mews Hotelier Survey 2026 also examined attitudes toward AI and governance practices. It found that 92% of hoteliers are optimistic about the use of AI in hospitality, and 83% trust AI tools to support decision-making. However, 41% of respondents indicated they do not have a formal AI policy in place, instead relying on verbal guidelines or having no guidelines at all. The data shows a connection between governance and trust: properties with a formal AI policy reported 92% strong trust in AI, compared to 49% among those without formal guidelines.

Revenue growth has emerged as a primary focus for properties proficient in AI. Among these properties, 52% identified revenue growth as the main outcome they seek from AI, ranking it above efficiency improvements or cost reduction. Properties with advanced AI skills reported higher outcomes in revenue, guest spending, and upselling.

The research highlights a shift in expectations for AI tools, with hoteliers seeking solutions that can respond to the specific operations of individual properties rather than relying on industry averages. Pricing decisions and other functions are increasingly expected to use property-specific data. In response, Mews is developing a semantic layer to provide AI tools with access to institutional knowledge that is currently dispersed across spreadsheets, staff, and disconnected systems.

The topic of AI in hospitality will be discussed at Mews Unfold, an event taking place on May 27 in Amsterdam.