AGENDA

• Where hotel technology budgets are moving (AI, automation, data platforms, guest tech)
• Benchmarking Against EU
• Guest behaviour shifts driving new experience expectations
• Labour economics and the operational case for digitisation
• What “digital maturity” looks like in 2026 and how leaders benchmark it
  

Why the SaaS model is collapsing and what's replacing it How AI is rebuilding the tools hotels depend on, inside a single platform What it looks like when your entire technology environment is understood, mapped, and managed as one

• APAC development hotspots and drivers
• Embedding brand positioning and concept from day one, including when branded residences improve feasibility and financing.
• Selecting the best-fit operating model (franchise vs management vs affiliation) based on control, standards, and speed-to-market priorities.
• Future-proofing projects with clearly defined “bookable attributes” to win in AI- led discovery and improve conversion/loyalty in 2026. Moderator: Nicholas Wyatt, Foodservice & Tourism Director
  

• How to move from monolithic PMS/CRS landscapes to composable, API-first architectures without disrupting operations
• Cloud migration patterns for hotel systems (hybrid vs multi-cloud), resilience, and global rollout governance
• Vendor strategy: build vs buy, avoiding lock-in, and managing SI/partner delivery at scale
  

A fast-paced introduction to selected partners and use cases.

• Turning an AI pilot into a property-wide rollout: goals, governance, and the change-management playbook that made it stick.
• What moved the needle: measurable impacts on guest experience, staff productivity, and operating costs—plus the KPIs used.
• Lessons you can apply: integration with PMS/CRM, data readiness, vendor selection, and pitfalls to avoid when scaling across hotels.
  

• Supercharging sustainability data - Automated monthly building performance data by AI achieving productivity savings, increased accuracy and uncovering hidden insights
• Enhancing reporting – Supports upcoming ISSB sustainability reporting demands by extracting dollar value from raw documents and mapping to sustainability metrics
• Mindset change – AI unlocks new possibilities, but human minds need to unlearn and relearn to reap AI’s max potential.
  

• On web and WhatsApp: what guests actually ask, how the AI answers, and where we drew the line on what it's allowed to do
• The unglamorous layer that makes it safe to scale: consent as a hard predicate, privacy-preserving data activation, and guest data residency by design
• From one pilot to a 17-hotel portfolio across Sri Lanka and the Maldives: deciding which guest-facing AI earns a rollout, which stays a pilot, and which gets retired
  

• Seamless Digital Experiences — Guests expect fast and reliable connectivity everywhere, from check-in to check-out
• Smarter, More Connected Hotels — Wi-Fi, IoT, IPTV, security and building systems are putting unprecedented demands on hotel networks
• Infrastructure Built for What’s Next — A simpler, scalable and sustainable fiber network prepares hotels for tomorrow
  

• Designing frictionless journeys: booking, arrival, stay, and re engagement
• Service design: where automation improves experience vs where it harms it
• Identity, recognition, and preferences across channels and properties
• Bridging digital + physical touchpoints to protect brand standards
  

• Use the Hospitality 2.0 framework to align digital vision with real IT constraints.
• Build smarter, secure connectivity that reliably supports guest and operational services.
• Enable guest recognition and connected touchpoints to deliver seamless end-to-end stays.

Senior representative, AntLab