Dive Brief:
- Choice Hotels International promoted technology executive Tony Pallas to the chief technology officer role as the multinational hospitality company prepares to expand its AI capabilities, according to a Monday statement. Pallas will report to Anna Scozzafava, the company’s chief data, AI and technology officer. His promotion comes amid a CEO transition, as Patrick Pacious, Choice Hotels’ president and CEO, stepped down last month.
- Pallas has spent the last 10 years leading Choice Hotels’ modernization efforts and expanding its cloud-based capabilities, most recently as chief commercial and technology officer for the hotel chain's property management system business. He also served as executive sponsor and chief architect for Choice Hotels’ AI-powered virtual teammate, Charlie, part of a larger set of AI-enabled technologies the company launched last month.
- As CTO, Pallas will continue supporting the development and adoption of AI, as well as lead enterprise tech and the company’s hotel operations and property management platform SkyTouch Technology.
Dive Insight:
Choice Hotels is among an expanding list of hospitality companies embracing AI to create more valuable experiences for franchisees, guests and owners.
Marriott International, which is undergoing a multiyear technology transformation journey, has its sights set on scaling AI in 2026, Global Chief Information Officer Naveen Manga said during a virtual event hosted by CIO Dive last month. Manga plans to build a foundation supporting AI use cases across guests, associates and owners, he said during the event.
Hilton is also expanding its AI capabilities, including through partnerships with Google, OpenAI and Anthropic. The hotelier teamed up with Anthropic to launch the Hilton AI Planner earlier this year, a platform that provides information about properties and local attractions.
Choice Hotels’ early move to migrate infrastructure and data to the cloud now provides the foundation for deploying AI capabilities at scale and is translating to improved business outcomes for franchisees, Pacious said during the company’s Q1 2026 earnings call in April. Total revenue reached a company record of $340.6 million for the quarter.
Pacious stepped down from the CEO role in May after a nearly 21-year tenure and will serve in an advisory capacity until Aug. 31 to support the transition. Dominic Dragisich, chief growth and strategy officer, was named interim CEO effective May 20 as the company searches for its next leader.
Choice Hotels has standardized on a common AI foundation through its long-standing partnership with AWS and has extended its AI capabilities with Salesforce, which enables the company to deploy intelligent agents across its organization, Pacious said.
Last month, Choice Hotels’ launch of AI-powered products Charlie, Choice Hotels Business Direct, EasyBid and Raise, were aimed at improving operational efficiency and helping hotel owners capture more demand. The EasyBid platform, a request for proposals AI tool that aims to help owners capture more demand, improved response time to RFPs by 30% and drove more business for franchisees, Pacious said.
“We’ve kind of taken a different approach by making early investments a number of years ago that have really allowed us to bring these AI tools to our franchisees at scale that are now driving real results for them,” Pacious told investors during the earnings call.
As Pallas takes on the role of CTO during the CEO transition, he will continue supporting the company’s AI-enabled capabilities as well as lead enterprise tech.
“Technology continues to play an increasingly important role in how we serve hotel owners, operators and guests,” Pallas said in the press release. “I look forward to working alongside our talented teams to build scalable solutions, advance AI-driven innovation, and deliver technologies that support our stakeholders’ success while positioning our company for continued growth in an increasingly digital world.”
