Predictive Personalization

In 2026, hotels will continue to leverage AI for predictive personalization, freeing up human staff for high-touch interactions.

The ongoing blending of business and leisure travel will encourage hotels to create more integrated workspaces, common areas, and extended-stay amenities–ranging from kitchenettes and laundry services to charging ports and privacy pods.

Guests continue to seek experiences and local immersion into cuisine and culture. Niche travel, such as pet-friendly and wellness getaways, will become increasingly desirable.

Here are continuing and emerging hotel industry trends for 2026.

Leveraging AI

Hotels need to ramp it up beyond the basic loyalty programs and offer hyper-personalized stays. The more you know your guests, the more you can delight them.

Leverage AI to analyze guest data, including information from your guests’ past stays, such as room, dining, and activity preferences. Monitor data from your website and social media.

Predictive AI: Use AI to anticipate needs such as minibar favorites and room temperature preferences, and to analyze and aggregate social media activity and reviews for added insight.

AI-Powered Concierge: Advanced chatbot and voice assistants can handle more than simple requests and address multi-step tasks, freeing up human staff for high-touch interactions.

Sustainability and Responsible Tourism

Guests continue to seek properties with transparent sustainability claims and positive contributions to their communities. A property’s environmental and social engagement factors are significant influences in booking decisions for a growing segment of travelers.

Verify your green and community initiatives, show yourself.

• Carbon Footprint Transparency: Provide clear metrics on your energy, water, and waste consumption. Consider allowing guests to track their individual stay’s environmental impact.
• Circular Economy Practices: Move beyond simple recycling to implement systems that reduce food waste, source local/sustainable materials, and design for less waste and longevity.
• Ethical Sourcing: Prioritize suppliers with fair labor practices who support local economies.
• Community Investment: Add programs that allocate a portion of the room rate to local social or environmental causes, and clearly communicate these efforts to your guests.

The Business + Leisure Traveler

The Bleisure (hybrid business/leisure)traveler continues to evolve. Whether they are traveling to a vacation destination and plan to work, or a work destination they want to add leisure time to, hotels should have flexible options, including:

Integrated Workspaces: Redesign guest rooms to offer aesthetically pleasing, ergonomic, and technology-rich remote work setups. This includes strong, reliable, and free Wi-Fi; work desks with multiple charging ports and task lighting; and dedicated privacy areas or pods.

​Extended Stay Amenities: Adapt your traditional space for longer stays, offering better, well-appointed kitchenettes, laundry services, takeout and delivery options, and community awareness of local events and attractions for guests extending their trips.

Enhance the Experience

Guests value unique, locally immersive, Instagrammable experiences over generic fare. Promote your proximity to chili cook-offs, exotic animal ranches, piney-woods trail hikes, or sea turtle releases. Build partnerships with locals to stay up to date on community events. Consider:

• Local Immersion: Partner with local artisans, chefs, entertainers, and guides to offer authentic cultural experiences. Consider everything from cooking classes and guided tours to sporting events and local pop-up markets.
• Themed and Concept Hotels: Guests love a good story and show an increased interest in hotels that have one–whether yours is steeped in history, housed a few outlaws, serves as an artist’s mecca, sits on the quirky fringe, or shines as a cutting-edge wellness retreat, highlight what makes your lodging unique.

Wellness

​Wellness travel continues to beckon to the stressed-out, the sleep-deprived, and all those seeking a healthy reset or a simple, peaceful escape. Consider integrating wellness options wherever possible.

• Offer personalized wellness itineraries that include guided meditation, yoga, nutritional consultations, and access to advanced recovery tools such as cold plunges or infrared saunas.
• Design rooms for sleep optimization: Sleep tourism is a growing travel trend. Rooms designed with features like circadian lighting, specialized bedding, soundscapes, and air purification promote optimal sleep.

Cleanliness and Hygiene

Remember, cleanliness is part of wellness. Maintain strict standards of visible and invisible cleanliness, including:

• Advanced air filtration: Install hospital-grade air purification systems (e.g., HEPA filters, UV-C light sanitization) in common areas and guest rooms.
• Transparency in sanitization: Clearly communicate cleaning protocols to your staff and utilize smart sensors to monitor and confirm sanitation compliance.
• Scent: Stay smell aware. Nothing can sour a stay faster than foul odors.

Technology Integration

We’ve often discussed the importance of technology integration in the hospitality industry for both customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. It’s not a perk, it’s a foundational requirement. In the new year, review your hardware, software, and all digital integration.

Seamless Digital Access

Focus on eliminating friction points from arrival to departure. Where possible, utilize:

• Mobile Key and Digital Wallets: Universal adoption of mobile keys and integration with digital wallet platforms for payments and identity verification.
• Kiosk and Facial Recognition: Automate check-in/out via digitized kiosks or facial recognition technology for loyalty members, speeding up the check-in check-out process.

Automation and Robotics

Hotels are using automation to combat labor shortages and enhance service consistency and efficiency.

• Service Robotics: Deploy robots for tasks like room service delivery, luggage transport, and basic cleaning, especially in back-of-house areas.
• Use AI-driven Algorithms for Dynamic Pricing and Revenue Management: AI-driven algorithms can incorporate real-time competitor data, weather, local events, and guest intent to maximize the guest experience and hotel profits.
• Smart Lockers: Consider installing smart lockers for extended-stay guests who may need early/late check-ins or outs, or for deliveries.

Growth of Niche Markets

Niche markets are fast-growing and sought-after. Finding your niche can lead to higher profitability, as customers often pay a premium for specialized stays and develop loyalty to those who offer them. Specialization frequently helps streamline and focus your marketing. Consider appealing to underserved segments such as:

• Pet-Friendly Luxury: Elevate pet accommodations from a mere allowance to a luxury experience. Including specialized menus, amenities, and services.
• Solo Traveler Focus: Design spaces, activities, and packages that cater specifically to the safety, convenience, and social needs of individuals traveling alone.
• Sports Fanatics: Big screen TVs (televising both men’s and women’s events), sports bars, and special shuttles to venues.
• Culinary Tourists: This growing market has an appetite for adventure. Partner with local chefs, farms and markets to show your stuff.

As traveler expectations continue to evolve, your hotel needs to keep pace. Know your people so you can serve, surprise, and delight them where they live, if only for an extended stay.