52% of hotel guests now expect AI in their touchpoint travel experience

New research from PYMNTS Intelligence reveals that 52% of hotel guests now expect artificial intelligence to play a role in customer interactions during their stay, including check-in processes and support services. This dramatic shift in consumer expectations reflects how quickly AI has moved from experimental technology to an anticipated standard in hospitality, fundamentally changing how travelers envision their service experience.

What you should know: The travel industry has rapidly embraced generative AI across multiple touchpoints, with both airlines and hotels deploying the technology to enhance customer service and operational efficiency.

• Airlines are using AI to manage passenger communications more effectively, while hotels leverage it for personalized marketing and customer support.
• United Airlines introduced an AI-powered text update system that sends real-time weather delay information to passengers, reducing frustration and freeing staff for strategic operations.
• Travel solutions provider Serko partnered with UneeQ to launch “Zena,” a digital human travel agent powered by ChatGPT that can recommend hotels and flights with conversational fluency.

Consumer adoption trends: Travelers are increasingly willing to trust AI with various aspects of their journey, though expectations vary by use case.

• 56% of travelers said they would use generative AI for restaurant recommendations, viewing AI as a digital concierge for dining, hotels, and activities.
• Seven in 10 Americans indicated they would use AI to plan travel itineraries, preferring the convenience over traditional planning methods.
• Despite this enthusiasm, travel agents warn that generative systems can miss less-trafficked destinations or return incomplete data.

The dark side: The same AI capabilities driving innovation have also enabled a surge in travel-related fraud and scams.

• Booking.com, a major travel booking platform, reported a 900% increase in travel scams over 18 months, many driven by AI-crafted phishing emails and fake listings.
• This duality has forced companies to balance efficiency and personalization gains against the risk of alienating customers or exposing them to fraud.

Industry workforce impact: AI adoption is being driven partly by anticipated labor shortages in critical sectors.

• One-fifth of aviation maintenance technician jobs may go unfilled by 2033, a shortage airlines are eyeing generative AI to help address.
• Rather than replacing mechanics, the technology aims to reduce time spent on troubleshooting and reporting tasks.

Why this matters: The research demonstrates that generative AI in travel has moved beyond experimental phase into mainstream expectation, forcing companies to determine how extensively they can deploy AI without compromising the human experiences that travelers value most.