Hospitality Net Launches the 2026 Hotel Yearbook "AI Everywhere" at HITEC 2026

San Antonio, TX / Maastricht, NL — Hospitality Net, one of the hospitality industry's most widely read knowledge platforms, today announced the official launch of the 2026 Hotel Yearbook Technology Edition - AI Everywhere at HITEC 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. A limited print run is available exclusively to contributors at the event, with the full publication accessible digitally at www.hotelyearbook.com.

Fully dedicated to artificial intelligence, this edition explores how hospitality technology is preparing for a decade of profound change. With a clear focus on practical impact rather than hype, it examines how intelligence is becoming embedded across the hotel technology stack and day-to-day workflows reshaping operations, revenue management, distribution, guest experience, and the back office.

The publication brings together 40 editorial articles from a wide spectrum of contributors, including academics, hotel brands, startups, established solution providers, and industry insiders, offering evidence-led perspectives, real-world lessons, and actionable guidance on what hoteliers should prioritize now to stay competitive in an AI-driven future. Structured around the three stages of the guest journey - pre-stay, mid-stay, and post-stay - the edition maps how AI is reshaping every phase of the hotel experience, from discovery and booking through operations and on to the lasting impressions guests carry after checkout. Under the rigorous editorial leadership of Editor-in-Chief Simone Puorto, it deliberately brings together a full spectrum of perspectives, including voices that challenge, contradict, and complicate the prevailing consensus, in the conviction that the industry is better served by honest debate than by easy agreement.

I think the best ideas rarely emerge from an industry talking to itself. Innovation happens at the edges, in the collisions between disciplines, when different mental models are forced into the same room. It is what James Surowiecki described as the “Wisdom of Crowds”: under the right conditions, diverse perspectives consistently outperform homogeneous expertise.

That conviction shaped this entire edition of the Hotel Yearbook.

Rather than limiting the conversation to hospitality technology vendors and operators alone, I brought together philosophers, sociologists, academics, designers, futurists, politicians, economists, technologists, marketers, revenue strategists, musicians, and hospitality leaders. The result is an intellectual constellation of voices examining questions that are ultimately far bigger than technology itself.

It was a titanic project, but also an immensely rewarding one.

I hope you enjoy reading this Yearbook as much as I enjoyed bringing it together.
And, more than anything, I hope it does not provide answers, but rather something far more valuable: better questions. Simone Puorto, Editor-in-Chief 

New to this edition are two significant additions that set it apart from previous volumes of the Hotel Yearbook:

• AI Solution Snapshots - a curated catalog of 26 AI solutions currently available on the market, offering readers a practical overview of the tools hospitality professionals are putting to work right now.

• HYB's AI Glossary - a comprehensive reference defining the words, acronyms, and terminology needed to follow (and join) the AI conversation in hospitality.

The edition features contributions from leading voices across the industry, including Zoltan Istvan, Leonardo Caffo, Ian Millar, Ira Vouk, Fredrik Sjoberg, Mark Fancourt, and many more.

This is the first publication of its kind in our industry, combining unique strategic insights from 40 domain experts with a practical AI solutions catalog and a glossary that demystifies the language of AI for hospitality professionals.

It is also a natural extension of Hospitality Net's broader commitment to AI education and intelligence through hospitalitynet.ai. We believe every hotelier, regardless of the size or scale of their operation, deserves access to the clearest possible picture of what AI means for their business, today and in the years ahead.

Henri Roelings, Founder of Hospitality Net and Publisher of the Hotel Yearbook

We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to, sponsored, and supported the Hotel Yearbook. It is your expertise, time, and confidence in this platform that make it possible to bring together such a wide-ranging set of ideas and viewpoints. This edition is truly a shared accomplishment, shaped by the generosity of thinkers willing to contribute their knowledge for the benefit of the wider industry.

The 2026 Hotel Yearbook Technology Edition - AI Everywhere is published by Hospitality Net in partnership with the Hotel Yearbook Initiative. It is available in digital and PDF format at www.hotelyearbook.com.

Media Contact

Henri Roelings

Publisher [email protected] +31 433 62 66 00