HOTEL2025emergingtechnologiesdestinedtoreshapeourbusiness2Predictingthefutureisimpossibleandattemptingitmightseemlikefolly.Butasinmostcases,itistheprocess–nottheoutcome–thatmattersmore.Forhotelleaders,anticipatingconsumertrendsandseekinginnovationsthatenhanceguestexperiencesarevitalexercisesthatneedtobepracticeddiligently.Now,morethanever–withthecomingwaveofdisruptivetechnologies–takingthesestepshelpsensuresuccesstomorrow.Tohelpinthatpursuit,OracleHospitalitycommissionedHotel2025,amajorindustryreportsurveyingconsumersandoperatorsaboutemergingtechnologiesdestinedtoreshapeourbusiness.Together,theirresponsesprovideinsightsabouttheseinnovations,includinganticipatedrateofadoption,potentialimpactandrelatedfears–realandimagined–thatneedtobeallayed.AmongthetopicsHotel2025explores:artificialintelligence,biometrics/facialrecognition,robotics,voiceactivation,wearabletechnology,virtualreality,driverlesstransportationandsmarthoteldesign.Thereportoutlinesthecurrentstatusofeachandforecastsitsfutureuse,andweavesinperspectivesfrom150hoteloperators.Italsoincorporatesin-depthinterviewswithchiefinformationofficersandchieftechnicalofficers.Thepathforwardundeniablywillrelyontechnologiesthatmakehotelssmarter,accelerateserviceand,mostimportantly,personalizeexperiencesforeachandeveryguest.WithHotel2025,itisourgoaltohelpyourbusinessembraceinnovationandprepareforthefuture.Itwillbeherebeforeyouknowit.Hotel2025|oracle.com/hospitalityHOTEL2025emergingtechnologiesdestinedtoreshapeourbusinessPerspectivesfrom150hoteloperators:ToanticipateconsumertrendsandseekinnovationsthatenhanceguestexperiencesartificialintelligenceAfieldofcomputerscience,artificialintelligenceisthepursuitofdevelopingcomputersthatcansimulatehumanintelligence–specifically,learning,reasoningandself-correction.Thoughthetermwasfirstcoinedinthe1950s,aseminalmomentraisingAI’sprofileinsocietycamein1997when“DeepBlue,”anIBMchessprogram,defeatedthelegendarychampion,GarryKasparov.AItechnologyvariesgreatlyinsophistication–fromautomationandreactivemachinesthatcananalyzeoptionsandselectoptimalones,tolimited-memorydevices(asfoundinautonomousvehicles),whichcanusepastexperiencestoshapefuturedecisions.ButtherecentsurgeinAIresearchcoincideswiththeadventofbigdata.AI’sabilitytoidentifypatternsandgleaninsightsfromdata–nowavailablefasterandingreaterquantityandvariety–yieldsadvantagestoalmostanyindustry.AllthatremainsforAIisforittogainself-awareness,oraconsciousnesswithitsownbeliefsandintentions.Thatremainsintherealmofsciencefiction,butwhoknowsforhowmuchlonger.Hoteloperators’toppredictionforartificialintelligence:72%ofhoteloperatorssaidprovidingtargeteddiningrecommendationsusingAIwouldbemainstreamorinmassadoptionby2025.Operators’othertopusesforartificialintelligence:•Recommendationsforin-destinationactivitieswhileguestsareon-property•Recommendationsforhotelpropertieswhenconsumersareshoppingforhotels3Hotel2025|oracle.com/hospitalitycontinuedartificialcurrentstatusfutureuseintelligenceThusfar,hoteliers’mostvaluableapplicationofAI,arguably,istheminingofconsumerfeedbacktoexpeditiouslycreateanddelivermeaningfulsolutionsforguests.Withthesheervolumeofdatafloodinghotelierstoday,it’sthetypeofanalyticaltaskthatcan’tbedonewell,ifatall,byahuman.AccordingtoMarketingWeek,luxury-hotelchainDorchesterCollectionusedanAIplatformtoconductabrandstudythatcontained7,454guestreviewsfrom28differenthotelsand10majorhotelbrandsacross18citiesandregions.Ontheguest-facingsideoftheequation,Hilton,atapropertyinMcClean,Va.,isexperimentingwithanAIrobotconciergethat“talks”withguests,providinginformationaboutthehotelandsurroundingarea.AndintheUK,EdwardianHotelsoffersavirtualhostservicecalled,“Edward.”Designedforguestswhoprefertextmessaging,Edwardcanrespondtovariousrequests,fromarrangingadvancecheckintosupplyingextratowels.AsAIcontinuestoevolve,industryexpertspredictthatitwillbeabletoobserveandlearnguests’behavior–even“perceive”theirneeds.Again,theimportanceofsuchcapabilitiesboilsdowntoimprovinghoteliers’abilitytopersonalizetheguestexperience.Inapreludetosuchevolution,numeroushotelsareexperimentingwithAIandvoice-activatedcontrolstooptimizeroomconditions,suchaslightingandtemperature.IntheMarketingWeekarticle,BrianMcGuinness,globalbrandleaderforAloftHotels,said:“WebelievethatbyeventuallyweavingAIintothehotelexperience,wecanmakearoomsmarter,givingguestsmorecontrolovertheirstay.”Whattheguestssaid:•47%ofconsumerssaidAI-basedpromotionsbasedonpastpurchaseswouldimprovetheirexperience,26%wouldvisitmoreoftenifhotelsofferedthisservice.•45%ofconsumerssaidAI-basedpromotionsbasedonhealth/dietaryneedswouldimprovetheirexperience,28%wouldvisitmoreoftenifhotelsofferedthisservice.4Hotel2025|oracle.com/hospitalityArtificialintelligencesource:MaeveHosea,“Howbrandsareusingartificialintelligencetoenhancecustomerexperience,”marketingweek.com,(May18,2016)driverlesstransportationDriverlessvehicles,oftencalledAVforautonomousvehicles,areroboticvehiclesthatcannavigatewithouthumanoperators.ThoughnumerousautomanufacturersandtechnologycompaniesarepursuingAVdevelo