Why Agentic AI May Be the Next Big Thing in Hotel Technology |

A new wave of hospitality technology is emerging that moves far beyond automation into autonomy. Known as agentic AI, this next generation of intelligence doesn’t just respond; it acts.

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By Lea Mira, HTN staff writer - 6.28.2025

It wasn’t long ago that hotel AI meant a chatbot answering FAQs or a system suggesting upsell offers based on static data. But a new wave of hospitality technology is emerging that moves far beyond automation into autonomy. Known as agentic AI, this next generation of intelligence doesn’t just respond; it acts.

Agentic AI refers to systems capable of independently pursuing objectives by making decisions based on context and intent, often coordinating across multiple systems. In the hospitality sector, this technology is already being piloted to manage bookings, optimize operations, and handle guest service tasks in real time, with minimal to no human intervention.

HiJiffy’s AI booking assistant helps guests make direct reservations by responding instantly across your website, social channels, and messaging apps. It integrates with existing hotel systems to keep pricing and availability current, reducing administrative workload while improving guest service.

What sets agentic AI apart is its ability to initiate actions. Where traditional AI waits for input, agentic systems can detect opportunities or issues and act accordingly. For hotels, this shift is proving increasingly valuable across booking engines, front desk operations, and even behind-the-scenes workflows.

Among the most visible pioneers is Access Hospitality, the parent company to SHR, Guestline, and STAAH, which this month launched a fully conversational, AI-powered booking engine. Instead of clicking through rigid forms, guests now engage in natural language exchanges to check availability, explore upsells, and confirm bookings. All of it happens on the hotel’s website, without redirects or third-party handoffs.

Cloud PMS provider Apaleo has introduced an Agent Hub to host and orchestrate autonomous agents across functions like reservations, room assignment, and task dispatch. Meanwhile, guest messaging platforms such as HiJiffy  and Akia are enhancing their bots to proactively address guest requests, resolve issues, and even upsell services during stays, without requiring a front desk handoff.

The applications for agentic AI in hospitality are quickly expanding:

• Booking & upselling: AI agents now handle more than static promotions. They tailor upgrade offers based on live availability, booking patterns, guest loyalty data, and even travel intent signaled by conversations. For example, if a guest inquires about late checkout, an agent might respond with an upgraded suite offer bundled with breakfast and flexible departure.
• Room assignments: Rather than relying on pre-assigned blocks or manual intervention, agentic AI systems weigh factors like guest preferences, room condition, VIP status, and housekeeping readiness in real time to assign optimal rooms. They can even reassign rooms on the fly if a delay or maintenance issue arises.
• Issue resolution: If a system detects a malfunction like an unresponsive TV or low minibar stock, it can trigger a response automatically. Agents can dispatch staff, notify the guest, and follow up post-resolution to confirm satisfaction or offer service recovery when needed.
• Operational coordination: From staff scheduling to preventive maintenance, agents help streamline internal operations by using contextual data to make smart decisions. For instance, they can automatically reassign housekeeping tasks based on check-in patterns, or reschedule repairs based on guest occupancy and priority levels.

What’s different is that these workflows don’t require scripting or one-off automation. The agents work together, drawing from shared memory and continuously improving their decisions with feedback.

Analysts see agentic AI as the next phase in hospitality’s digital evolution, though not without caution. A recent Gartner projection suggested that 40% of early agentic AI projects across industries may be shelved by 2027 due to complexity, unclear ROI, or governance gaps.

Hospitality leaders appear to be learning from past AI experiments. Instead of launching enterprise-wide rollouts, hotels are focusing on targeted pilots where benefits can be clearly measured: reducing check-in times, boosting conversion rates, or resolving service issues faster.

As guests grow more comfortable interacting with AI assistants, whether for booking or in-stay service, expectations will evolve. Platforms like Lighthouse are already enabling hotels to surface their rates and amenities directly to AI agents like ChatGPT or Google Gemini through structured protocols like the Model Context Protocol (MCP). This means AI travel agents can discover, describe, and even transact on behalf of guests.

That raises the stakes for hoteliers. Those who invest in agentic AI today may enjoy operational agility and stronger guest loyalty tomorrow. Those who wait may find themselves disintermediated by the very platforms their guests now trust to plan trips.

The shift is clear: in a digital-first travel landscape, hotels need systems that not only understand intent but act on it. Agentic AI, still in its early innings, is shaping up to be one of the most consequential hospitality tech developments of the decade.