AI and other key trends changing hospitality in 2026 with Wouter Geerts

What can the hospitality industry expect in 2026? Especially given the rapid development of AI and the fact that a third of travelers already use LLMs to search and get travel inspiration. Wouter Geerts, Director of Market Research at Mews, joins Matt to break down the 2026 Hospitality Industry Outlook report, shaped by conversations with 18 industry experts, including hoteliers, tech vendors, consultants and investors. You’ll hear about the changing AI use cases in hotels, new guest behavior patterns and what determines which hotels get surfaced and booked in 2026.

Download 2026 Hospitality Industry Outlook


Wouter Geerts is the Director of Market Research at Mews, where he leads comprehensive industry research initiatives, including the 2026 Hospitality Industry Outlook Report. With expertise in hospitality technology trends and data-driven insights, Wouter brings a rigorous, objective approach to understanding the future of hotel operations.

Learn more about the podcast here: https://hubs.ly/Q0350wrf0


#hoteltech #hospitalitypodcast #mews #hotelmanagementsystem #pms #hotelrevenue



00:00 – About the 2026 Hospitality Industry Outlook report


04:50 – The AI inflection point for hotels


06:45 – Agentic AI and guest booking behaviors


15:10 – How to beat OTAs in 2026


17:12 – Turning unused spaces into revenue


19:19 – Why AI won’t fix your data silos


22:37 – Semantic layer explained


32:16 – Is 2026 really the year of change?

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