Why luxury hospitality must strike the right balance between AI and human connection

AI may be dominating hospitality conversations, but for luxury brands the challenge is not simply how to adopt it, but where to draw the line.

At the recent Rocco Forte Hotels Meetings & Events Showcase at Verdura Resort, Andrew Evers, Vice President of Technology, explored the growing tension between efficiency and emotion, and why the future of luxury hospitality depends on getting the balance right.

“There’s a lot of AI fatigue in the world right now,” he said. “Artificial intelligence is best purposed when supporting actual intelligence. It’s a tool, not a result.”

That distinction increasingly matters as AI rapidly becomes embedded into everyday life and business operations. From proposal generation and attendee personalisation to chatbot communication and predictive event planning, hospitality brands are undergrowing pressure to embrace new technologies and demonstrate innovation.

But for luxury hotels, there is also a risk that efficiency starts to come at the expense of the very thing guests value most: genuine human connection.

For Evers, the challenge is not whether AI should be used, but how to use it thoughtfully, selectively and in ways that genuinely enhance the guest experience rather than replacing it.

“Hand thought is the new hand built,” he explained during the think tank session, arguing that in a world increasingly shaped by automation, personalised human interaction is becoming even more valuable.

That philosophy was reflected throughout the showcase experience at Verdura, where technology was used discreetly to simplify the guest journey rather than dominate it. The Eventmobi platform, for example, allowed attendees to access agendas, travel details and receive updates easily throughout the programme, quietly removing logistical friction in the background.

But importantly, the technology never became the experience itself. Instead, the focus remained firmly on conversation, shared experiences and bringing people together in the room.

Evers also outlined ways Rocco Forte Hotels is exploring AI to deliver more personalised digital experiences for guests. Website content, for instance, can increasingly be tailored around individual guest interests, meaning a guest browsing golf experiences may see different imagery and recommendations to a family traveller.

WhatsApp communication channels are also helping the group better understand guest sentiment and identify opportunities to improve service, while still ensuring interactions remain human-led rather than automated.

“Less is more,” Evers explained.

AI presents clear opportunities to improve efficiency across meetings and events, particularly in areas such as event flow, room visualisation, attendee communication and administrative tasks that traditionally consume significant time and resource.

During the session, Evers demonstrated how AI-generated visuals could help planners quickly reimagine event spaces in different styles and set-ups, while also discussing how data and predictive tools could support areas such as attendance forecasting, guest personalisation and sustainability reporting.

But he repeatedly returned to the importance of preserving the emotional side of hospitality: “I can’t teach a computer to smile and welcome our guests.”

One example particularly resonated with attendees. After mentioning at one Rocco Forte property that she preferred red wine over champagne, a guest later discovered that every hotel within the collection ensured red wine was waiting for her arrival.

“That’s magic,” Evers reflected.

The think tank also explored some of the wider uncertainty surrounding AI adoption, from ethical concerns and rising costs to the risk of losing critical thinking and future talent development if too much responsibility is handed over to automation.

Several attendees also questioned whether overreliance on AI risks reducing creativity and specialist expertise within the events industry, particularly as more operational and creative tasks become automated.

Evers encouraged planners to remain experimental but cautious, particularly within luxury environments where brand trust and guest expectations are so closely tied to personal service.

As meetings and incentive experiences continue to evolve, that balance between technology and human connection is likely to become increasingly critical.