Hotel Tech Startups Using AI to Combat Labor Shortage

25.08.2023 - 13:21 / skift.com / Justin Dawes / Generative Ai

Skift has covered quite a few travel companies as they have released products powered by generative AI. Most have been about consumer travel planning and booking, primarily because those were the first products announced and released. 

More are rolling out, but there have also been releases from business-to-business companies, particularly in hotel tech. And there will certainly be more. 

Highlighted below are ways tech companies in the hotel and short-term rental sectors are enhancing their platforms with generative AI:

HiJiffy is among the first hotel tech companies using generative AI that has raised venture capital. The startup announced this week that it has raised $4.2 million (€3.8 million).

HiJiffy has been using conversational AI for a while to help hotels automate responses to customers. Before integrating generative AI, the software offered pre-written responses that could include unrelated information.

With the integration, the company claims its software is able to respond to specific questions with specific answers, drawing from the database of information attached to the individual hotel client.  

“That was one of the struggles of the onboarding of new clients, they had to organize all the content in their content management system manually. And now we do it automatically,” said HiJiffy founder Tiago Araújo.

HiJiffysaysits “pre-stay” product is able to quickly answer about 80 percent of guest questions about the hotel, such as check-in time and parking availability, meant to help drive more direct bookings. 

Through connections with the hotel’s main property management system and other software, the HiJiffy “in-stay” product is able to answer questions guests may have during their hotel stay, such as making restaurant reservations or ordering room service. Again, the goal is boost revenue.

At departure, there are messages about check-out and leaving a review.

The startup is working with more than 1,800 hotels in more than 50 countries, primarily in the UK, France, and Portugal. Some clients include hotels from Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, Exclusiv, and Accor. The company plans to strengthen its presence in the UK market and expand into Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. 

Araújo said the startup grew 150 percent during the pandemic because of the labor shortage — an issue still present today. 

“Most of our clients are doing very well in terms of revenue. They’re doing very well in terms of bookings. But what we hear the most of their struggles is with staff,” Araújo said. “We’re seeing it globally, with a big staff shortage, and they’re trying to automate as many processes as they can.” 

The company was already in the process of raising money when it integrated generative AI into the