Hospitality Chatbots: Top Use Cases and Case Studies
According to PwC, the hospitality industry can charge the second-highest premium for excellent customer experience, with a 14% margin.1 Fast and easy-to-engage digital channels are part of the excellent customer experience.
Engaging with many customers 7/24 via live agents is not an efficient strategy for the hotels. Therefore, they can leverage their customer service with hospitality chatbots. Nevertheless, many hotels still do not use chatbots.
To understand the value of hospitality chatbots, we examine their types, benefits, and common use cases across hotels.
Types of Hotel Chatbots
1. Rule-Based Chatbots
- Work with predefined scripts and answers.
- Best for FAQs and repetitive queries.
- Easier and cheaper to deploy but limited in scope.
2. AI Chatbots
- Use natural language processing (NLP/NLU) to understand intent.
- Can perform complex tasks such as bookings and upselling.
- Require more time and resources to implement.
Key Benefits of Hospitality Chatbots
1. 24/7 Availability
Guests contact hotels across time zones. Deloitte highlights response time as a key metric for customer service.
Unlike humans, chatbots can work continuously without fatigue, providing constant support.
2. Multi-Language Support
Guests come from diverse backgrounds. AI chatbots can provide instant translation, making it easier for hotels to serve international travelers and build trust through communication in a guest’s native language.
Figure 2: What modern customers expect from customer services.
What are the types of hotel chatbots?
There are two types of hospitality chatbots which are:
- Rule-based chatbots: These chatbots provide predetermined answers for certain questions. Since they cannot understand user intent, they are suitable for automating frequently asked questions. The main advantages of rule-based chatbots are their relatively easy deployment and lower price compared to AI chatbots.
- AI chatbots: These chatbots can handle more sophisticated customer queries for hotels thanks to their NLP–NLU capabilities. For instance, AI-driven chatbots can make bookings for customers. AI chatbots cons’ on the other hand are the greater time and cost needed for deployment.
Key Use Cases of Chatbots in Hospitality
1. Pre-Arrival and Booking Support
Modern travelers expect instant responses when researching and booking accommodations. Chatbots excel at handling the initial customer journey:
Primary Functions:
- Real-time availability queries and pricing information
- Direct booking facilitation with integrated payment processing
- Reservation modifications and cancellations
- Pre-arrival service add-on sales (spa, dining, transportation)
- Travel recommendations and local attraction information
Hotels lose up to 10% of potential bookings due to delayed responses. Guests who don’t receive a quick reply often book elsewhere. Implementing chatbots for pre-arrival support directly addresses this revenue leakage.
Example: Oyo’s WhatsApp chatbot enabling hotel searches in Amsterdam (Figure 5).
2. Check-in and Concierge Services
The digital transformation of traditional front desk operations represents one of the most impactful chatbot applications:
Core Capabilities:
- Mobile check-in process guidance and support
- Digital room key distribution and activation
- Early arrival and late checkout request processing
- Real-time amenity information and directions
- Personalized service recommendations based on guest preferences
In fact, one hotel used Canary’s AI Guest Messaging solution to reduce its median response time from 10 minutes to less than one, demonstrating significant operational efficiency gains.
Figure 3 illustrates how the chatbot at House of Tours takes all these aspects into account when arranging customers’ vacations to maximize their enjoyment.
Figure 3: Personalized travel planning via hospitality chatbots.
3. In-Stay Guest Services
Throughout the guest stay, chatbots provide continuous support and revenue generation opportunities:
Service Areas:
- Room service orders and delivery coordination
- Housekeeping requests (towels, amenities, maintenance)
- Spa and restaurant reservations
- Local attraction bookings and transportation arrangements
- Complaint resolution and escalation management
4. Post-Stay Engagement and Retention
The guest relationship extends beyond checkout, with chatbots facilitating ongoing engagement:
Key Functions:
- Automated review request campaigns
- Feedback collection and sentiment analysis
- Loyalty program point updates and rewards
- Future booking incentives and personalized offers
- Brand engagement through social media integration
5. Restaurant and Food Service Operations
Restaurants are increasingly adopting chatbots for operational efficiency:
Applications:
- Table reservation management
- Order taking and payment processing
- Menu recommendations based on dietary preferences
- Delivery coordination and tracking
- Customer feedback collection
6. Event and Group Booking Management
For properties with event spaces, chatbots streamline complex booking processes:
Capabilities:
- Initial inquiry qualification and requirements gathering
- Venue availability checking and preliminary pricing
- Group accommodation coordination
- Event planning resource recommendations
- Multi-stakeholder communication management
7. Visa Eligibility Assistance
Chatbots can guide customers on visa requirements, necessary documents, and application status, helping reduce disruptions caused by visa rejections.
Example: A Haptik-powered chatbot providing visa assistance (Figure 4).
8. Answering FAQs
Around 75% of customer queries are repetitive (IBM). Chatbots can automate answers about amenities, check-in times, or policies.
Example: Equinox Hotel’s AI chatbot “Omar” handling FAQs (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Equinox Hotel’s chatbot answers FAQs.
Case Studies from Hospitality Companies
Marriott International: AI Integration
Marriott has invested heavily in AI technology, including chatbots accessible through Slack and Facebook Messenger platforms3 .
Key Results:
- Marriott International reported a 65% reduction in call center volume after their chatbot implementation, with an estimated annual savings of $2.3 million across their North American properties
- Marriott International’s implementation of Advanced AI for personalized guest experiences has led to a 50% reduction in guest complaint resolution time
- Since this implementation, Marriott has experienced more than 60% of its users returning to its virtual assistant with an average session lasting 4 minutes
- Marriott uses AI to understand and predict visitor preferences, making stays uniquely personal through data analytics integration with their chatbot systems.
Hilton Hotels: Robot Concierge Innovation
One of Hilton’s best-known applications of artificial intelligence is powering its robot concierge, Connie. Connie is stationed at Hilton front desks to answer guest questions and provide recommendations for local attractions and restaurants. It can also assist in making reservations.
Additional AI Initiatives:
- Hilton introduced its chatbot, Xiao Xi, in 2020. The chatbot assists Hilton members and guests with answers to questions, including hotel information, local weather, and current promotions
- With a 94% customer satisfaction rating, Xiao Xi has replied to more than 50,000 customer queries since its launch
By leveraging AI to assist in guest services, Hilton has reduced the average resolution time for customer inquiries by 25%, improving both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction4 .
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group): 24/7 Assistant
IHG has integrated “IHG Assistant,” an AI chatbot that helps the hotel chain manage customer interactions and bookings efficiently. Available 24/7, this tool provides quick responses to guest inquiries and streamlines the booking process.
Operational Benefits: The chatbot allows human staff to focus on providing more personalized service where it’s most needed, improving overall workforce efficiency5 .
Boutique Hotel Success: The Brown Hotel
The Brown Hotel, a 35-room boutique property in Louisville, Kentucky, successfully implemented a chatbot that handles 65% of pre-stay inquiries while maintaining the hotel’s unique voice and charm.
Rather than replacing staff, the AI system extended concierge capabilities, allowing the team to focus on creating memorable guest experiences while handling routine inquiries automatically6 .
For more
- WhatsApp Business Partners: Everything You Need to Know.
- Conversational Commerce Platforms: Data-driven Benchmarking.
- 50+ Chatbot Companies To Deploy Conversational AI.
You can read our Restaurant Chatbots: Use Cases, Examples & Best Practices article to learn more about restaurant bots.
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Cem's work has been cited by leading global publications including Business Insider, Forbes, Washington Post, global firms like Deloitte, HPE and NGOs like World Economic Forum and supranational organizations like European Commission. You can see more reputable companies and resources that referenced AIMultiple.
Throughout his career, Cem served as a tech consultant, tech buyer and tech entrepreneur. He advised enterprises on their technology decisions at McKinsey & Company and Altman Solon for more than a decade. He also published a McKinsey report on digitalization.
He led technology strategy and procurement of a telco while reporting to the CEO. He has also led commercial growth of deep tech company Hypatos that reached a 7 digit annual recurring revenue and a 9 digit valuation from 0 within 2 years. Cem's work in Hypatos was covered by leading technology publications like TechCrunch and Business Insider.
Cem regularly speaks at international technology conferences. He graduated from Bogazici University as a computer engineer and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.
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