Hospitality sector expands AI use in guest experience and hotel distribution

Major hotel operators are extending artificial intelligence beyond trip planning to cover the entire guest journey. IHG Hotels & Resorts highlighted AI tools that assist travelers from inspiration and booking through personalized interactions before, during and after a stay, aiming to improve convenience, personalization and data quality.

At the same time, Rategain Travel Technologies announced a strategic partnership with ZentrumHub to merge its Smart Distribution platform with the latter’s connectivity infrastructure. The joint effort seeks to simplify hotel distribution, reduce fragmented integrations and speed up onboarding of inventory and demand partners. Bhushan Tamhankar, co‑founder and COO of ZentrumHub, said the partnership “removes the barriers that traditionally slow distribution, giving connected partners faster access to broader supply and demand, in weeks rather than months.” Anurag Jain, EVP‑Revenue (APMEA) at Rategain, added that the collaboration “builds a more scalable and interoperable foundation for the future of travel distribution.” Both initiatives illustrate a broader industry shift toward AI‑driven guest experiences and more integrated distribution networks.