Dive Brief:
- Hyatt appointed former Under Armour CTO Danny Miles as its chief digital and information officer Monday, where he will oversee the hotelier’s newly combined digital and technology organization. Miles will report to Chief Commercial Officer Mark Vondrasek, the company said.
- In his role, Miles will oversee AI, digital product and experiences, engineering, infrastructure, enterprise tech, data and cybersecurity, Hyatt said in the announcement. Former CIO Eben Hewitt departed the company in June, per LinkedIn, and Miles is stepping into an evolved role, a Hyatt spokesperson told CIO Dive.
- Miles’ appointment aims to support the company’s investments in modernizing its systems and using AI throughout the business, Vondrasek said in the announcement. “Danny brings the vision, technical expertise and experience to fundamentally advance how we operate, develop products and deliver value for our colleagues, guests and owners,” Vondrasek said.
Dive Insight:
Hoteliers are using AI across services including scheduling, onboarding, booking and more, as the industry seeks to operationalize backend work to provide better guest experiences.
Hyatt’s technology investments are focused on using data and AI to optimize administrative tasks so that associates can focus on personalized guest experiences, CEO Mark Hoplamazian said at the NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum in June.
As an incoming tech leader, Miles will build on the capabilities of the company’s portfolio of personalization tools and proprietary AI-enabled tools while “advancing the core technology platforms that support hotels, commercial operations and guest experiences,” for the brand’s 1,500 hotels and properties, the announcement said.
Miles joins the organization most recently from Under Armour, where he led a multiyear overhaul of the company’s enterprise architecture. He’s also held the CTO role at Dollar Shave Club, supporting the company’s e-commerce business, and worked as VP of direct-to-consumer technology at Nike, where he led the company's cloud migration strategy and helped expand Nike's retail, e-commerce and mobile app experiences.
“From the systems that support our hotels to the digital experiences that connect us with guests, our focus will be on making technology a more powerful part of how Hyatt cares for people and grows its business,” Miles said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the company made tech updates to Hyatt Leverage, its business travel platform for small and mid-sized businesses. The platform is now powered by cloud-based travel technology provider Spotnana to “enable an integrated booking experience.”
The technology updates follow Q3 earnings in which Hyatt saw revenue per available room increase across all customer segments, with luxury hotels leading growth.
Hyatt is among hoteliers seeking AI to operationalize the business. Marriott is pouring investment into AI to enhance the customer experience, and is using the technology for discoverability as AI changes the way customers book hotel stays, President and CEO Anthony Capuano said last week during a Q3 2026 earnings call.
Hilton is also investing in agentic AI to drive customer experience and reduce costs for the enterprise, President and CEO Christopher Nassetta said in October during the company’s Q3 2026 earnings call.
