HFTP brought together a global, multi-segment group of hospitality industry professionals and association representatives to chart the future of artificial intelligence in hospitality. This impressive group of experts working together as the HFTP Hospitality AI Collective outlined its vision and set up concrete pathways to accomplish it.

The Hospitality AI Collective's mission captures the breadth of its ambition to "Unite hospitality industry professionals, educators and association representatives, from diverse industry segments to explore, understand and harness the power of AI. We empower our global community through hands-on education, open collaboration, standards, best practices, research and shared insights that turn the potential of AI into real-world results. Together, we champion responsible, ethical AI adoption that strengthens businesses, elevates stakeholder experiences and shapes the future of hospitality."

In addition to presenting its mission, the group unveiled a strategic roadmap and established five subcommittees to drive industry-wide AI advancement.

Before delving into the work ahead, co-chairs Michael Goldrich and Shannon McCallum first acknowledged what the AI Collective has accomplished so far, including the dynamic Workforce 20X demonstration lab it hosted at HITEC 2026. A primary draw within the exhibit were the presentations given by AI experts: Robert Cole, Jeff Bzdawka, Jaffery Ali, Ajay Aluri, Dale Gomez, Minwoo Lee, Fredrik Sjoberg, Tariq Valani, Christian Ortiz and Mark Gage. These individuals represented a diverse, international group that offered a broad perspective on the state of AI in the hospitality industry at the world’s largest and longest-running hospitality technology event.

Then looking ahead, the AI Collective established five subcommittees to help structure its work and make them actionable:

• AI Education and Training
• Member and Industry Engagement
• AI Research and Innovation
• AI Ethics and Governance
• Hospitality Applications
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Each subcommittee is chaired by a Collective representative, ensuring coordinated progress across all areas of focus.

The Collective is also leveraging existing corporate data responsibility guidelines for the lodging industry, commissioned and published by HFTP. These will serve as a foundation for new AI governance work, with a gap analysis identified as the logical first step.

The meeting spotlighted several major initiatives and partnerships. This includes the recently announced collaboration between HFTP and Destination AI to advance practical AI education and implementation across the industry. Though HFTP and the AI Collective (AIC) individually support and endorse Destination AI, this endorsement does not reflect the positions of the individual associations represented on the Collective.

Expanding its reach even further, the Collective welcomed Hospitality Net — a leading content distribution provider — to ensure industry news and insights reach as wide an audience as possible, supplementing HFTP media companies Hospitality Upgrade and Hotel Online. Also, to add to the growing representation is participation from The International Food and Beverage Technology Association and the China Hotel Technology Alliance.

Ahead from the Collective is an AI certification program developed by the HFTP Academy. The first level of the certificate is expected to launch late Summer 2026.

Last, the Collective is actively building a centralized, online repository for these resources, providing access across the hospitality industry. To be developed as part of this site is a tool that would make the AI-related data searchable by large language models. This would position this resource as a single source of truth for AI in hospitality, and ensures the Collective includes members with lobbying and advocacy experience.

The HFTP AI Collective truly ticks a lot of boxes in HFTP's strategic plan. What excites me most is that it positions HFTP as both a source and a resource for the industry — generating original research, education and guidance while also serving as a trusted hub where hospitality professionals can turn for actionable AI insights provided by other respected professionals in the industry.