Ajay 'AJ' Aluri

They're going to want a person, want to have a person.

Are you sure that everyone is ready and going to want this technology?

And that is exactly why I call this as, you know, a lot of our research shows that people prefer these face-to-face high-touch experiences during their stay.

The beauty of really using high-tech and high-touch combination is if you can take care of these high-tech customers that prefer the screens, that prefer mobile check-ins, that prefer AI chatbots or service bots, you're getting them really quickly out of it.

So you have more time for high-touch customers like your parents.

So now hotels can have more time for your parents instead of like rushing them, like saying, hey,

Check-in, check-out, go, go.

Versus, you know what, 50% of my customers are high-tech versus 50% are high-touch.

Your 50% of high-tech customers are taken care of with technology.

Now you have more time for your high-touch customers.

And that's the way to go in the future.

So I'm hearing a hybrid model is ideal.

Something like a grocery store with the self-checkout lanes, but then also clerks to check you out if that's what you want, not all one or all of the other.

Exactly.

The hybrid approach is the way to go, but human intervention in hospitality is needed, right?

The technology is only good as it goes.

I mean, if you don't have a human intervention as needed, then you're not really creating those experiences.

So I would say the future of hospitality is not high tech or high touch, but it's high tech with high touch.

Now, you're convinced this is the future of hotels, like even the highest end ones, or is this more like middle range kind of experiences?

So as you go into luxury, upper upscale and upscale, yes, you will need that customer service.