When we mark 150 years of Hotel Management, we celebrate more than just an industry milestone. We celebrate the remarkable journey of technological innovation that has shaped modern hospitality. From the first in-room plumbing and electric light switches to today’s generative AI platforms, technology has repeatedly transformed how hotels operate, how guests experience service, and how the hospitality industry creates value.
As a founder of Thayer Investment Partners, I’ve been fortunate to support entrepreneurs developing the next wave of travel and hospitality technology. Looking back at our industry’s history, I am reminded of one constant: while tools change, the mission stays the same. Hospitality is about creating meaningful human experiences, with technology serving as the enabler, not the end goal.
Early Breakthroughs: Comfort, Safety and Convenience
At the dawn of modern hospitality, innovation meant plumbing that enabled ensuite bathrooms, electric light switches near the door, and in-room telephones. These now-basic amenities were groundbreaking at the time. They represented more than just mechanical conveniences: they marked a new era of guest-centric design.
Ellsworth Statler, often called the father of modern hospitality, understood this well. By making the guest the focus of every design choice, he pioneered innovations that elevated lodging into an improved experience. His maxim, “Life is service,” still resonates. The lesson was clear: success in innovation comes from removing friction, anticipating needs, and enhancing comfort.
The Digital Backbone: Reservations, Payments and PMS
By the mid-20th century, hotels had become too complex for manual ledgers and filing cabinets. Airlines led the way with computerized reservations and hotels quickly followed suit. The property management system emerged as the nerve center of hotel operations, linking reservations, room inventory and guest accounting.
Payments also evolved, shifting from handwritten folios to magnetic-stripe cards and eventually to digital authorizations. These changes brought efficiency, consistency, and scalability. However, they also introduced the first “stack” of hospitality technology—often proprietary, siloed and costly to replace. Vendor lock-in, fragmented ownership structures and legacy integrations remain barriers that hoteliers still face today.
Yet the payoff was tremendous. PMS systems facilitated yield management, maintained global brand standards, and launched the first loyalty programs—bringing data-driven insights that could influence both revenue and customer relationships.
The Internet Era: Distribution Disrupted
Few waves of technology shook the industry more than the internet. With the rise of online travel agencies (OTAs) like Expedia and Booking.com, the glossy brochure was replaced by digital self-service. Suddenly, consumers could browse, compare and book hotels in real time.
OTAs increased reach and efficiency but also added commission costs and reduced direct control. Meanwhile, new platforms like TripAdvisor introduced peer-to-peer reviews, fundamentally changing how travelers make decisions. Social media further sped up this democratization of influence. A single Instagram photo could now shape brand perception more powerfully than an ad campaign.
The guest journey shifted online, and hotels had to adapt. Marketing, distribution and service merged in a digital ecosystem that was global, transparent and unforgiving.
Cloud and Mobile: Toward Integration
The 2010s brought two accelerants: the smartphone and the cloud. Guests expected to manage every aspect of their lives on mobile devices and travel was no exception. Mobile check-in, keyless entry and text-based communication became standard expectations.
Cloud-native platforms reimagined core systems. Mews, for example, transformed the PMS from a closed legacy system into an open, API-driven platform. This shift gave hotels unprecedented flexibility to integrate best-of-breed tools, automate workflows and harness real-time data.
Meanwhile, guest-facing platforms like Canary Technologies integrated the guest journey—providing self check-in, digital payments, messaging and dynamic upsells. By reducing friction at every interaction, these systems demonstrated how technology could extend beyond back-office efficiency to genuinely improve the guest experience.
The cloud and mobile era marked a turning point: technology shifted from focusing mainly on management control to empowering guest choice and personalization.
AI and the Next Generation Tech Stack
Now, we stand at the edge of perhaps the most transformative era yet: artificial intelligence. Unlike previous innovations, AI doesn’t just digitize processes—it redefines decision-making and personalization.
Generative AI is transforming search, marketing and travel planning. Guests now ask AI assistants, not search engines, for recommendations on where to stay, dine or explore. Content, offers and itineraries can be generated instantly and customized to individual preferences.
Agentic AI is emerging as a powerful next step. Soon, autonomous digital agents will be able to assemble itineraries, negotiate rates, and complete bookings end-to-end on a traveler’s behalf. This has profound implications for distribution and loyalty.
Process automation reduces friction in familiar ways: biometric IDs at airports, AI-powered chatbots that handle common questions and automated upsell engines that tailor offers during the stay.
The implications are vast. Revenue management must adjust to intelligent agents capable of real-time arbitrage. Marketing will shift from focusing on search engine optimization to enhancing AI visibility. Loyalty programs will need to integrate across ecosystems of identity, data and benefits.
Back to the Essence: Humans Serving Humans
What all these trends and innovators reinforce is that the core of hospitality remains the same. We are humans serving humans. Throughout history—from plumbing to PMS, OTAs to AI—the winners have been those who used technology not just for its own sake, but to improve service. My co-founder, Lee Pillsbury, often pointed out this principle: innovation is only useful if it enhances hospitality. The main goal of technology in our industry is to strengthen that human connection – not to replace it.
Yes, we now have AI that can answer guest questions, systems that personalize offerings for each individual, and algorithms that negotiate bookings. But these are tools to empower our teams and delight our guests. A chatbot can’t replicate a genuine smile at check-in or the creativity of a concierge’s personal touch; what it can do is free up staff from routine tasks so they can deliver more of those moments of authentic hospitality.
As we celebrate Hotel Management’s 150th anniversary and reflect on the incredible evolution of hospitality technology, my call to action for fellow hoteliers is clear: embrace experimentation. Don’t hesitate to pilot that new AI assistant, integrate with that experience platform or partner with a startup reimagining distribution.
Our Thayer Ventures portfolio companies and many others are demonstrating that smart technology adoption leads to better guest experiences and healthier businesses. In this fast-changing era, standing still is the only risky move. By embracing innovation—always with the goal of enhancing the human element of service—we can ensure that hospitality’s next 150 years will be just as welcoming, inspiring and successful as the last. The tools and tactics may evolve, but the core of our industry remains the same. Ultimately, great hospitality is about people caring for people, now and always. Let’s leverage every technology available to make that timeless mission easier and more rewarding for everyone involved. HM
About the author: Chris Hemmeter is founder of Thayer Investment Partners, a venture capital platform investing in technology companies in the travel and mobility space
This article was originally published in the October edition of Hotel Management magazine. Subscribe here.