The hotel commercial function is being pulled apart and reassembled. Revenue management, distribution, marketing and technology were once siloed disciplines, each with its own systems, teams and performance targets. That structure is cracking under the weight of artificial intelligence, which is changing how data is interpreted, how prices are set and, increasingly, how travellers discover and book rooms.
At the Ambition Bangkok by Cloudbeds conference, a panel of senior executives argued that the next generation of hotel commercial strategy will demand a different kind of professional: someone who can bridge technology, data and decision-making. The session, titled “The commercial playbook is being rewritten,” featured Michael Belanger, Vice President of Commercial Strategy at GCP Hospitality; Riku Penttinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Avalon Analytics; Yann Gouriou, CEO of Unicorn Hospitality and COO of WINK; and Ben Charlton, Regional Director, APAC at Cloudbeds.
Technology must serve the business, not the other way around
Belanger cautioned against adopting technology for its own sake. “Hotels need to use technology that actually matters,” he said. That sounds straightforward, but it marks a significant shift in an industry flooded with new tools and platforms. The challenge is no longer access to technology; it is knowing which tools can genuinely improve commercial performance.
That also changes the hiring calculus. Belanger stressed the growing importance of recruiting people who understand technology, reflecting a wider shift in the skills required within hotel commercial teams. “We need people who can ask the right questions of the data and turn insights into action,” he added.
From static reports to smarter decisions
Penttinen focused on the data foundation. As hotels look to AI to support commercial decisions, managing data has become more critical than ever. “The potential is not about generating more reports,” he said. “It’s about moving from information to action.”
Revenue professionals, he argued, must become increasingly comfortable with technology and understand how to make these tools work for them. AI can process information at a scale humans cannot, but the commercial value still depends on people knowing what to ask, what to trust and what action to take. “The human side of technology is just as important as the technology itself,” Penttinen noted.
From being discoverable to being bookable
Gouriou approached the discussion from an owner and asset perspective. His message was to “give love to the hotel” — to put yourself in the shoes of the asset owner and think about what is ultimately driving the property’s performance. That owner-centric view brings the conversation back to a fundamental commercial question: Is the hotel actually positioned to capture the demand that exists?
Gouriou also highlighted the importance of being bookable, not simply discoverable. A hotel can be visible across digital channels, but visibility alone does not guarantee revenue. The property needs the information, availability and booking capability to convert attention into an actual reservation. As the booking journey evolves, that distinction could become increasingly important.
Preparing for the agentic booking journey
Looking ahead, Gouriou pointed to the potential rise of agentic AI, suggesting that by 2030, 30% of bookings could come through agentic channels. The significance extends beyond the number itself. If AI increasingly searches, compares and makes choices on behalf of travellers, hotels will need to consider how their properties are represented within those systems.
The traditional question has been: Can guests find us? The emerging question may be: Can AI find us, understand us and book us? That is a very different commercial challenge, one that will require hotels to rethink their distribution strategies and technology stacks.
As the industry moves toward this AI-driven future, the commercial playbook is indeed being rewritten. Hotels that invest in the right technology, hire people who can leverage it, and ensure their properties are bookable by both humans and machines will be best positioned to thrive. For more on how technology is reshaping travel, see our coverage of Alipay's agentic commerce platform and Agoda's tech-driven partnership with Singapore.
