AI is starting to change how hospitality businesses operate, from managing everyday tasks to developing employees and improving guest experiences.
While the opportunities are exciting, there’s an important question for operators to consider: are employees equipped with the skills and confidence to make the most of it?
In this blog, we explore where hospitality currently stands with AI adoption, the challenges of preparing employees to use the technology effectively and why learning and development has an important role to play in helping businesses embrace AI and get greater value from your investment.
AI adoption in hospitality: Where are we now?
Hospitality has been slower to embrace AI than many other industries. According to The Caterer (2026), nearly one in three hospitality businesses surveyed (30%) weren’t using AI in the workplace, highlighting how much room there is for adoption across the sector.
Yet there’s considerable potential for AI to make a difference. From streamlining administrative tasks and improving workforce planning to supporting employee development, AI has the ability to help hospitality businesses address some of their longstanding operational challenges.
For multi-site operators, these benefits could be particularly valuable. AI can help reduce time spent on repetitive tasks, improve consistency across sites and support employees in delivering better guest experiences.
However, introducing new technology doesn’t automatically lead to better business performance. As more hospitality businesses explore AI, the challenge is shifting from understanding what the technology can do to making sure it delivers meaningful value in practice.
Are hospitality teams ready for AI?
While AI can bring significant benefits to hospitality businesses, making the most of the technology depends on whether employees have the confidence to use it effectively.
Building these capabilities comes with particular challenges. Employees work across different roles and sites, with varying levels of digital experience and access to training. Even those already using AI may not fully understand how to apply it to their day-to-day responsibilities or where it can add the most value.
There’s also the question of trust. Knowing how to use an AI tool doesn’t necessarily mean understanding when to rely on it, how to question its outputs or where human judgement is essential. Some employees may also be concerned about how AI could change their responsibilities or affect their job security, making them more hesitant to embrace the technology.
For hospitality operators, these gaps in knowledge and confidence can have wider business implications, including:
- Underused technology: Employees may avoid new tools or only use a fraction of their capabilities.
- Inconsistent performance: Different levels of AI knowledge across teams and sites can lead to uneven adoption and working practices.
- Reduced employee engagement: Uncertainty around AI and changing responsibilities can create frustration and resistance to new ways of working.
- Limited return on investment: Businesses may struggle to achieve the productivity improvements and efficiencies they anticipated if employees aren’t equipped to use AI effectively.
These challenges highlight why employee readiness deserves as much attention as the technology itself. Understanding where confidence gaps exist is an important starting point, but businesses also need to consider how workforce development fits into their wider plans for AI.
The role of L&D in preparing hospitality teams for AI
As AI changes the way hospitality businesses operate, training needs to evolve alongside it. For L&D leaders, this means looking beyond existing learning programmes and considering how employee development can support new ways of working.
Rather than treating training as something to introduce once new technology is in place, L&D should be part of the conversation from the outset. Working closely with operational teams and senior leadership can help ensure learning priorities reflect how AI is being introduced and the changing needs of the workforce.
This means taking a broader view of workforce development, including:
- Preparing for changing skills requirements: Considering how AI will influence different roles and ensuring learning programmes remain relevant as responsibilities evolve.
- Making AI learning an ongoing priority: Recognising that employees will need opportunities to develop their knowledge as technology advances, rather than relying on one-off training.
- Building a culture of continuous learning: Encouraging curiosity, adaptability and a willingness to develop new skills as AI becomes more widely used.
For hospitality businesses, preparing employees for AI is a process rather than a single training initiative. By making workforce development part of their approach to AI adoption, operators can help their teams adapt to change and make more effective use of the technology over time.
Final thoughts
Keeping up with AI isn’t simply about adopting new technology, but ensuring employees are prepared for the changes it brings. For hospitality businesses, getting real value from AI means investing in workforce development alongside the technology itself.
As AI continues to evolve, L&D leaders have an important opportunity to shape how businesses prepare for the future. By making learning a priority from the outset, operators can help their teams adapt to new ways of working and turn AI investment into meaningful improvements in performance and guest experience.
