What Hospitality Leaders Actually Think About AI in 2026

The Inflection Point in Hospitality

Hotel owners across India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia are navigating rising operational costs, shifting guest expectations, and a workforce that is harder to retain than ever.

"But here is the honest question nobody is asking out loud: what do hospitality leaders actually think about AI in 2026?"

This roundtable is designed to find out. Twelve operators and leaders will sit at the same virtual table, share what is working, call out what is failing, and have the kind of blunt conversation that doesn't happen at formal conferences.

Core Discussion Themes

Who Should Attend?

• Hotels & Resorts: Owners, COOs, and GMs from groups of 50-500 rooms. Your perspective on piloting AI matters here.
• Restaurants & Food Service: Founders and Directors from single-outlet to multi-location groups. Fine dining to cloud kitchens.
• Wider Hospitality: Industry media, associations, and tech veterans who shape how the sector thinks about tech.

Event Agenda (90 Minutes Total)

• 0:00 - 0:10 | Opening — Setting the table Who's in the room, what they run, and one honest sentence about where they stand on AI right now.
• 0:10 - 0:40 | Round One: What's Actually Happening Each participant shares one real AI experience — adoption, failure, surprise, or question. No polish required.
• 0:40 - 1:10 | Round Two: The Hard Questions Facilitated deep dive into the themes that surface most. Expect disagreement.
• 1:10 - 1:25 | Audience Questions The best questions submitted by live observers go to the table for debate.
• 1:25 - 1:30 | Close — Tactical Takeaways One thing each participant is taking away. What they'll do differently next week.