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Published by Hotelschool The Hague as the 2026 Outlook Paper, this research report sounds a direct warning to the hospitality sector: the AI adoption gap is not a technology problem but a structural threat to economic sovereignty. Only one in ten Dutch hospitality firms currently uses AI in a structural way, compared to AI-using firms in the broader economy which already account for half of total turnover. In hospitality, that figure is just a quarter.
The report warns that hotels risk being demoted to what it calls 'sleeping utilities': interchangeable providers of beds managed by the algorithms of tech giants. As hotel owners hesitate, external platforms including OTAs, AI booking assistants and recommendation engines are capturing the full guest relationship and the economic value that comes with it.
The paper maps five divergent futures for hospitality, ranging from an 'algorithmic nightmare' scenario where hotels lose all direct guest contact to a 'worker-empowering co-pilot' scenario where AI augments human hospitality rather than replacing it. The authors argue that AI-driven productivity is no longer a competitive advantage but a hygiene factor: the minimum price of admission to remain relevant.
A central recommendation is to protect digital sovereignty, maintaining control over guest data and direct relationships rather than ceding them to intermediaries. The paper also argues that authentic human connection becomes more valuable, not less, as transactions become automated: in a world of AI-generated content and interactions, human judgement is the premium.
For DMOs and destination organisations, the structural warning about tech intermediaries capturing guest relationships and economic value applies well beyond hospitality.
Published by Hotelschool The Hague as the 2026 Outlook Paper, this research report sounds a direct warning to the hospitality sector: the AI adoption gap is not a technology problem but a structural threat to economic sovereignty. Only one in ten Dutch hospitality firms currently uses AI in a structural way, compared to AI-using firms in the broader economy which already account for half of total turnover. In hospitality, that figure is just a quarter.
The report warns that hotels risk being demoted to what it calls 'sleeping utilities': interchangeable providers of beds managed by the algorithms of tech giants. As hotel owners hesitate, external platforms including OTAs, AI booking assistants and recommendation engines are capturing the full guest relationship and the economic value that comes with it.
The paper maps five divergent futures for hospitality, ranging from an 'algorithmic nightmare' scenario where hotels lose all direct guest contact to a 'worker-empowering co-pilot' scenario where AI augments human hospitality rather than replacing it. The authors argue that AI-driven productivity is no longer a competitive advantage but a hygiene factor: the minimum price of admission to remain relevant.
A central recommendation is to protect digital sovereignty, maintaining control over guest data and direct relationships rather than ceding them to intermediaries. The paper also argues that authentic human connection becomes more valuable, not less, as transactions become automated: in a world of AI-generated content and interactions, human judgement is the premium.
For DMOs and destination organisations, the structural warning about tech intermediaries capturing guest relationships and economic value applies well beyond hospitality.
