The hospitality sector is facing a digital “red code,” as a new report from Hotelschool The Hague indicates a major structural gap in the adoption of artificial intelligence. Although AI is considered the most significant economic shift since the emergence of the smartphone, only 10% of Dutch firms in the field utilize the technology structurally, risking being relegated to the status of mere “sleeping utilities” controlled by the algorithms of tech giants.<\/p>\n
The study highlights a significant financial discrepancy: while companies using AI in the broader economy already generate half of the total turnover, in the hospitality sector, this share is only a quarter. The report forecasts that by 2028, 80% of hotels will implement AI assistants; however, this step will become a mere mandatory efficiency standard without generating additional market share. The major challenge for 2030 is defined as the “technological paradox,” where massive digitalization will increase the value of authentic human connection, which will become the only real competitive advantage.<\/p>\n
Hotelschool The Hague, an institution founded in 1929 that educates over 2,850 students at its campuses in The Hague and Amsterdam, proposes five evolution scenarios, ranging from excessive algorithmic optimization of staff to using AI as a “co-pilot” that eliminates administrative tasks. The recommended strategy for industry leaders is “digital sovereignty,” which involves reinvesting productivity gains generated by AI into “High-Touch” services to maintain relevance against external platforms.<\/p>\n
Read the Outlook Paper 2026 here: https:\/\/www.hotelschool.nl\/research\/outlook-paper-2026\/<\/p>\n
What is the main risk for hotels that do not adopt AI?<\/strong><\/p>\n They risk becoming mere “sleeping utilities” controlled by the algorithms of major tech companies, losing their commercial independence.<\/p>\n How does AI adoption in hospitality compare to other economic sectors?<\/strong><\/p>\n The sector is lagging behind; firms using AI in the broader economy already generate 50% of turnover, compared to only 25% in hospitality.<\/p>\n What does “digital sovereignty” mean for industry leaders?<\/strong><\/p>\n It involves reinvesting AI-driven productivity gains into “High-Touch” human services to maintain a real competitive advantage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The hospitality sector is facing a digital “red code,” as a new report from Hotelschool The Hague indicates a major structural gap in the adoption of artificial intelligence. Although AI is considered the most significant economic shift since the emergence of the smartphone, only 10% of Dutch firms in the field utilize the technology structurally,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":119028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3693],"tags":[5354],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-119037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-hotelschool-the-hague"],"article_style_override":"on","post-style":"style2","post_via":[{"title":"hospitalitynet.org | 09.03","post_source_url":"https:\/\/www.hospitalitynet.org"}],"post-top-image":"https:\/\/rhn.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/hotelieri-2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhn.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhn.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhn.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhn.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119037"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rhn.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119047,"href":"https:\/\/rhn.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119037\/revisions\/119047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhn.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhn.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhn.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhn.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119037"},{"taxonomy":"thb-sponsors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhn.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thb-sponsors?post=119037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}