Dive Brief:
- Wyndham Hotels & Resorts entered an agentic AI adoption push this quarter as the technology went live in about 7% of the company’s 8,300 hotels, according to CEO Geoffrey Ballotti, speaking during an earnings call Thursday.
- The 250 AI agents implemented are handling "hundreds of thousands of guest calls," Ballotti said. The tools provide a range of guest service support, such as modifying bookings and offering travel recommendations. OpenAI, Canary Technologies, Salesforce and Oracle are supporting the efforts.
- “We're taking labor-intense tasks away from our franchisees,” Ballotti said during the Q3 2025 call, referring to the impact of adopting AI agents. “We're allowing them to make extra money by seamlessly selling an early check-in or late checkout… or an upgrade or amenities.”
Dive Insight:
Much like other industries, hospitality giants are aiming to improve efficiency and customer experience via AI adoption. The growing technology investment and focus come amid increased pressure from dips in travel, weakened performance and rising operational costs.
Marriott has credited its AI efforts — part of a multiyear digital transformation plan — with enhancing employee and customer experience as well as boosting its search engine traffic.
The Maryland-based company has a long list of potential use cases, but has primarily focused on high-value adoption avenues. Striking a balance between ambition and caution is top of mind for Marriott’s leaders, and it’s a common thread across the travel industry.
Hilton has embraced AI to drive value, too.
“We are obviously, like most, spending a huge amount of time understanding where AI is, the art of the possible,” CEO Christopher Nassetta said during the company’s Q3 2025 earnings call Wednesday.
The executive said the company has 41 AI use cases across its company at varying levels of maturity. The use cases primarily fall into three buckets: efficiency-based, go-to-market and customer experience, Nassetta said.
Executives at the hospitality companies, including Wyndham’s, believe their companies are at the start of their AI journey with ample room to improve, despite making inroads.
“Wyndham AI has already handled more than half a million customer interactions, delivering faster service, higher booking conversion and a 25% reduction in average handle time, all contributing to nearly 300 basis points of improvement in direct contribution for hotels leveraging Wyndham AI to its fullest potential,” Ballotti said of its broader AI suite of tools. “With this new Agentic AI by Wyndham component, and adoption ramping quickly, we're only beginning to unlock what Wyndham AI can deliver.”
