This insight summarises The last competitive edge: why trust is the only asset AI cannot replicate, by Jun Kwon, Teaching Instructor at the School of Hospitality Leadership, East Carolina University, published on Hospitality Net on 9 October 2026.
The information advantage is gone. Hotel sales managers once held market knowledge their clients lacked. Today event planners can compare venues, pricing and reviews in minutes. Forrester's 2024 Buyers' Journey Survey found that 89% of B2B buyers used generative AI in at least one of their purchasing processes.
Trust decides comparable deals. When properties offer similar space and amenities, buyers choose the partner they are confident will deliver. 6sense research found the winning vendor was already on the buyer's shortlist on day one 95% of the time, and prior experience with a vendor was both the most consulted and the most influential resource.
Five trust-building behaviours:
- Consistency across booking after booking.
- Transparency when problems arise.
- Staying in touch between contracts.
- Institutional memory of client preferences.
- Honest counsel, even recommending a competitor when it suits the client better.
AI's proper role. Kwon is not arguing against AI. It should take over routine sales tasks so managers have more time for site visits, informal conversations and proactive outreach when a client's business changes. Guests still value people too: in a Hotels.com 2025 survey, 70% of hotels said guests still prefer speaking to a person, especially at check-in and when they need support.
Practical takeaway. Measure sales teams on more than proposal volume and conversion rates. Client retention, repeat bookings and referrals show whether trust is actually being built.
Why this matters for hotels. As buyers arrive with AI-generated shortlists, the properties already on them will be the ones with a record of keeping promises. Used well, AI widens that lead by giving sales teams time back for relationship work.