Hotels across Asia-Pacific are moving quickly to close long-standing data gaps that have limited personalisation and depressed rebooking rates, with AI now exposing how much revenue is being left on the table.
Citing findings from the new Agilysys APAC Hospitality Impact Study, Agilysys vice president and managing director APAC Tony Marshall said the region’s “rebooking paradox” remains one of the industry’s biggest missed revenue opportunities.
Despite 86 per cent of travellers surveyed reporting high satisfaction levels, only 37 per cent said they choose to return to a hotel they previously enjoyed.
“The foundation for all AI-powered hyper-personalisation is a single, integrated technology ecosystem,” he told delegates at NoVacancy Asia in Bangkok, adding that hotels cannot close the rebooking gap until their data systems talk to each other.
Marshall told TTG Asia that most properties still operate with “four profiles for the same guest”, making it nearly impossible for staff to anticipate needs or drive ancillary spend.
“In most properties now, the profiles are in separate silos,” he stated.
“You might have a profile at the front desk, a separate profile at the spa, and another in the restaurant. Because the systems don’t talk to each other, the personalisation is fragmented. They don’t know that you were just in the spa and you like herbal tea, so they can’t offer it at the restaurant,” he elaborated.
With AI now capable of generating predictive prompts across the entire guest journey, hotels risk losing repeat guests simply because operational systems remain disconnected.
“AI needs data in one place. Once the data is in one database, then AI can basically do anything. It can prompt staff to offer the right bottle of wine, the right treatment or the right teatime before the guest even asks for it,” Marshall stressed.
Properties using yield-management capabilities across spa and golf are already seeing revenue gains of around 10 per cent, even before applying AI to F&B or activity sales.
He noted that adoption remains uneven across Asia-Pacific, with Australia and New Zealand leading take-up of full end-to-end ecosystems. Thailand, meanwhile, is a newer growth market for the NASDAQ-listed hospitality tech specialist, but the direction of travel is clear – as more properties consolidate systems, AI will become central to commercial strategy.
Marshall emphasised that AI must enhance, not dilute, the human element. Nearly half of Asia-Pacific travellers value staff who go the extra mile, while 30 per cent spend more when employees recall past conversations.
“Seamless integrations between systems empower your staff to deliver higher-touch service, letting them focus on what matters most – the guest,” he said.
Marshall added that the rapid shift to mobile-led travel behaviour is also amplifying the pressure. More than half of OTA bookings in 2025 were made on smartphones, accelerating guest expectations for seamless digital journeys and making it harder for hotels to win direct relationships.
With 68 per cent of Asia-Pacific travellers willing to pay more for tailored stays and multigenerational travel rising, Marshall expects bundled, AI-curated experiences to become a defining competitive driver in 2026. He urged hoteliers to shift their commercial mindset beyond room nights.
“To maximise revenue, focus on Revenue Per Available Guest, not just the room,” he said.
