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Insights from an ISPA iLearn Partner Perspectives webinar featuring Agilysys SVP of Product Strategy and CMO Frank Pitsikalis, Jeremy McCarthy of Leisure Alchemy, and Kelleye Martin of The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa.
Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly prominent in hospitality, leading many spa operators to ask a practical question: Will AI make hospitality less personal?
During a recent ISPA iLearn Partner Perspectives webinar, Agilysys SVP of Product Strategy and CMO Frank Pitsikalis joined Leisure Alchemy Principal Jeremy McCarthy and The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa Spa Director Kelleye Martin to discuss how AI is influencing spa operations, guest engagement, and revenue optimization.
One theme surfaced repeatedly: AI creates value when it removes operational friction and gives hospitality professionals more time to focus on guests.
Hospitality has always been built on relationships, empathy, and memorable experiences. Guest expectations around personal service remain unchanged, but many teams spend significant time on administrative work that pulls them away from guest-facing responsibilities.
As Jeremy McCarthy noted during the webinar, AI can automate routine tasks such as scheduling, reporting, answering common questions, and surfacing guest insights, allowing staff to focus on the moments that matter most to guests.
Kelleye Martin viewed the opportunity through an operator’s lens. If AI can reduce time spent building schedules and managing administrative tasks, leaders can spend more time with guests and supporting their teams.
Personalization has long been a hospitality goal, but many organizations either lack sufficient guest data or collect so much information that employees struggle to identify what matters in the moment. McCarthy described this challenge as getting the right information to the right employee at the right time.
The panel discussed how AI can automatically surface insights such as:
Martin described these details as the “golden nuggets” that help teams deliver exceptional service. Rather than searching through years of profile notes, providers can quickly see the information most relevant to an upcoming guest interaction.
She also noted that spa teams often say, “the most important person is the one in front of you.” AI helps support that goal by putting relevant information at employees’ fingertips instead of requiring them to search through records while preparing for appointments.
One of the strongest messages from the discussion was that successful AI initiatives begin with connected guest data.
Information often exists across multiple systems throughout a property. Guest preferences may live in the spa, restaurant, hotel, golf operation, or other departments. When those systems operate independently, opportunities to serve guests more effectively can be missed.
When guest information is unified, teams gain a more complete view of each guest. AI can then surface insights that support a more consistent experience across the property, helping teams recognize preferences and proactively address service issues.
The panel also explored the rise of AI-powered conversational reservations.
At The Houstonian, Kelleye Martin noted that call volumes can exceed 500 calls daily, with conversations frequently lasting 12 to 15 minutes, creating challenges for even well-staffed reservation teams.
AI-powered voice and chat experiences can answer questions, assist with reservations, recommend upgrades, and provide information around the clock while still allowing guests to connect with a reservation specialist when needed.
Martin noted that when reservation teams are fully occupied, guests may abandon calls and never call back. AI can help ensure every inquiry receives a response while still giving guests the option to speak with a person if they prefer.
The panel explored how future AI capabilities could help operators forecast demand, recommend staffing adjustments, identify revenue opportunities, and automate portions of operational workflows using factors such as occupancy, booking pace, weather, and historical demand patterns.
The conversation also touched on agentic AI, where AI agents could coordinate tasks across systems such as filling open shifts or retrieving business insights through natural-language requests.
Organizations do not need to transform overnight. Instead, they can start by identifying repetitive tasks where AI can provide immediate value, such as reporting, guest insight discovery, scheduling support, or reservation workflows.
Kelleye Martin encouraged operators to focus on manageable use cases rather than viewing AI as an all-or-nothing decision. One example she shared was using AI to analyze reports and identify opportunities that may otherwise go unnoticed. Her advice: embrace AI where it helps your business operate more efficiently while keeping the focus on guests.
As Jeremy McCarthy observed, AI is another tool that can help hospitality professionals do what they already do best. The organizations that gain the most value will likely be those that use AI to strengthen guest relationships and support the people responsible for delivering them.
Related Reading: Making Hospitality More Human The webinar reinforced a simple idea: technology creates the most value when it helps people create better guest experiences. Explore how Agilysys views the role of AI, automation, and connected guest data in strengthening human hospitality in our blog,
