Generative AI Technology has slowly begun transforming the hospitality industry by boasting enhanced guest experience, automated check-ins, and more efficient operations. However, the use of this technology in our industry can lead to various concerns regarding overall guest experience and privacy.

What Is Generative AI Technology?

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To prove a point, we had generative AI technology help answer this question:

“Generative AI technology refers to a class of artificial intelligence (AI) systems that are designed to create new content, rather than simply processing existing data. These systems use complex algorithms and neural networks to generate new data, such as images, videos, music, or text, that can be used for a variety of applications.

Generative AI technology typically involves training a machine learning model on a large dataset of existing content, which allows the system to learn patterns and trends in the data. Once the model has been trained, it can generate new content that is similar to the data it has been trained on, but with variations and nuances that are unique.”

While this is very cool stuff, it can come with some serious downsides to the hospitality industry as a whole.

Lack of Personal Touch

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One of the main downsides of AI technology in hospitality is that it can sometimes lead to a lack of personal touch. Guests may feel less valued and less connected to the business if their interactions are primarily with a machine instead of a human.

Think about it, would you rather speak to a machine or another human? If you’re extremely introverted, you might be thinking to yourself, “Definitely a machine.”

But let’s put this in perspective:

Let’s say you’re planning a wedding and you are looking for a beautiful venue. In your research, would you rather speak to a machine that will simply give you the facts? Or would you rather speak to a person that understands just how important the little details are for your special day? That’s the kind of personal/empathetic touch we’re talking about.

Technical Glitches

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Like all technology, generative AI systems can sometimes experience technical glitches. This can lead to frustrating experiences for guests, which can potentially damage the business’ reputation.

Moreover, these systems can sometimes learn the wrong information from bad data. While the internet is very powerful, think about how much misinformation is scattered within it. Now remember that this is where AI systems do their learning. Not that this happens all the time, but when it does happen, it can be a catastrophic blow to your business.

Privacy Concerns

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AI technology often relies on collecting and analyzing large amounts of data, which can raise privacy concerns for guests. One of the main privacy concerns associated with generative AI technology is the potential for misuse or unauthorized access to personal data. Say the data used to train a generative AI system includes sensitive information such as medical records or financial data. There is a risk that this information could be exposed or misused. This is why businesses in the hospitality industry must ensure that they take appropriate steps to protect guest information.

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If you have any additional questions about generative AI technology in our industry, please reach out. We’re here to help.