AI for Guest Experience: Removing Friction, NOT Replacing People

Peter Moore, CEO and Founder of Lolly, shared his perspective following a recent webinar co-hosted with The Caterer on the role of artificial intelligence in the guest experience. The session brought together senior leaders from across the hospitality sector and examined how AI was evolving, where its real value had begun to show and why technology needed to support people rather than replace them. His contribution set the context for a wider discussion about how AI could remove friction, strengthen operations and enhance genuine human connection across hospitality.

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"AI is becoming one of the most powerful tools hospitality operators have to remove friction from the guest journey- from booking and ordering to personalisation and feedback.

Lolly recently partnered with The Caterer magazine to co-host a webinar on the theme of ‘AI for Guest Experience’. Fellow speakers included: Dean Culpan, general manager at Miiro Templeton Garden, Will Frances, marketing and AI training expert, David Turner, CTO at Compass Group UK and Ireland and Caroline Baldwin, deputy editor at The Caterer.

I have spoken a lot on this theme and can honestly say that this was one of the most balanced and honest conversations I’ve heard on the subject.

AI is too often discussed either as a silver bullet or a threat. What this session reinforced for me is that AI is neither. It’s inevitable yes, but its success depends entirely on how strategically and responsibly it’s deployed.

The changing guest

One of the strongest themes discussed was how guest behaviour is evolving. Speed is now as important as price. Today’s guests increasingly expect personalised experiences at scale.

Discovery itself is shifting. AI-led platforms like ChatGPT are gaining traction for more complex planning queries.

The real challenge is managing the data

A big takeaway for me was that most hospitality businesses don’t have a data problem, they have an issue when it comes to taking action with the data. Operators already collect vast amounts of information. The real opportunity lies in using AI to turn that data into smarter scheduling, better forecasting, dynamic pricing, fraud detection and inventory optimisation. But every investment must be measurable. As I keep saying, AI for AI’s sake isn’t a strategy.

And what we have to remember is that clean, integrated, real-time data is the foundation. Without it, even the most sophisticated AI tools will underperform.

Hyper-personalisation with boundaries

The panel explored hyper-personalisation in practice - from facial recognition to allergen-aware menus and personalised preferences.

But there was a clear consensus: there’s a fine line between helpful and intrusive. Human judgement still matters. Hospitality is a people-first industry, and technology must support that, not undermine it.

Responsible deployment matters

During the webinar, I also spoke about the importance of responsible AI. Governance, data protection and sustainability can’t be afterthoughts. As a sector, we need frameworks and accreditation standards to ensure AI is used ethically and securely.

At Lolly we have recently become the first UK technology for hospitality company to achieve the newly introduced ISO42001 accreditation, the international standard for Artificial Intelligence Management Systems (AIMS). This is a significant milestone for the hospitality technology sector, and at Lolly we don’t just talk about AI innovation, we focus on delivering long-term, real and practical value- rooted in governance, accountability and measurable outcomes.

AI’s real role in hospitality

The most important conclusion of the session was simple: AI should remove friction.

It should reduce wait times, automate repetitive admin, improve forecasting accuracy and streamline processes - freeing teams to focus on what truly differentiates hospitality: human connection and true personalisation.

AI won’t replace hospitality staff. But it will redefine roles, enhance capability and raise expectations.

The opportunity is significant. But success won’t come from chasing hype. It will come from clear business cases, clean data and responsible deployment. We continue to evolve…"