In recent years, Canary Technologies has established itself as an authority on generative AI in the hospitality industry by pioneering AI-driven solutions that enhance guest communication and hotel operations. For example, the company recently debuted its AI Voice platform, which provides hotels with an end-to-end AI-powered voice assistant. This technology is meant to address key industry challenges, such as the high volume of missed calls and the increasing demand for seamless, 24/7 guest interactions. With more than 20,000 hotels—including major brands like Marriott, Hilton and Wyndham—leveraging its solutions, Canary is regularly setting new standards for AI adoption in hospitality.
To explore how AI is constantly changing our industry’s landscape, we spoke with SJ Sawhney, co-founder and president, about its impact, challenges and the future of AI-driven guest experiences.
When did attitudes toward generative AI’s usefulness in the hospitality industry change?
SAWHNEY: It wasn’t until about 18 months ago that generative AI went from being a hypothetical technology for most businesses to an incredibly useful tool. When it first debuted, some felt it would be a fad like cryptocurrency and that it would take years to become truly useful and impactful. But others viewed it as “Electricity 2.0”—a true enablement layer—and believed from the beginning that generative AI was here to stay. Canary was one of those companies that believed in the potential of this technology and was willing to invest significantly into understanding and creating solid guest experience tools that incorporated generative AI.
How are hoteliers leaning into AI adoption?
SAWHNEY: There are numerous areas where generative AI can be useful: guest-facing services, back-office operations, payment processing, revenue management and inventory management, among others.
On the guest-facing side, communication via text, call and email is a great use case for generative AI. This is where Canary excels. However, it’s important to remember that people have spent the past decade dealing with automated responders that rarely work as intended. They’re walking into this new relationship with AI with some emotional baggage. So, while generative AI can be an excellent tool for guest communication, no one should try to trick a guest into thinking they’re speaking with a human. Instead, letting the guest know they’re chatting with an automated agent, giving them examples of what they can ask and informing them that they have the option to speak with a human will be what eventually creates trust.
Will generative AI tools make hotel stays less hospitable?
SAWHNEY: No. Generative AI is there to answer guests’ repetitive questions, such as: “Is there a pool? Do you have a pet policy? What is your check-in time?” But if someone calls and says, “I got a flat tire, I’m stuck on the side of the road, I need to cancel my booking, can you let my team members who are staying at the hotel know?”— the AI knows to handoff the conversation to staff that can navigate the situation effectively.
Are there any hotel brands taking the lead with AI adoption?
SAWHNEY: From Canary’s point of view, it seems that all hotel brands are beginning to embrace AI and take it seriously. Among those we talk about publicly include BWH Hotels and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
For example, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts now has 80% of their guest messages handled by generative AI. But we shouldn’t discount independent hotels; they’re just as interested in implementing generative AI tools as brands.
A more interesting question, however, is: Which generative AI tools are hotels willing to build themselves versus purchase? Right now, AI is moving at an incredible pace—it’s almost impossible to keep up. We see changes happening on a weekly basis. Asking hoteliers to build generative AI tools that work really well is essentially asking that hotel brand to become a technology company, and that’s just not their core focus.
As hoteliers make build-or-buy decisions, we’ll see the results of their choices in about three to five years. That will tell us which brands have won and which have lost when it comes to AI implementation. Want to dive deeper into AI in hospitality? Explore the latest trends in Canary’s new industry research report, “Navigating AI: Emerging Trends in Hospitality.”
