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The hype cycle on AI agents keeps going. The Financial Times tells us that the “rise of AI shopping agents” is set to transform e-commerce. OpenAI even renamed its Operator system simply “Agent,” making the pitch clear: AI will browse and buy on our behalf. Sounds great, but not totally sure it will pan out (most of Amazon’s profit comes from ads not from product sales).

While Europe’s policymakers and opinion leaders obsess over semiconductors and clean tech, another economic engine is humming along with far less fanfare – and far greater local impact. In its forecast for the five-year period from 2024 to 2029, Oxford Economics named travel and tourism the world’s fastest-growing established industry – outpacing financial services, manufacturing, and even information and communication. It’s time Europe treated it as a serious pillar of economic strength – not a sideshow.

If you’ve ever stood in line at a hotel reception, you know how quickly excitement can turn into frustration. Guests arrive with bags, families and expectations – but a slow-moving queue at check-in is often the first impression they get. For hoteliers, this isn’t just an operational issue. It’s a brand issue. Those first (and last) moments shape guest satisfaction more than almost anything else.

I’ve spent years watching hotel managers juggle operations like circus performers. Emails at midnight, last-minute cancellations, staff shortages, unexpected group bookings, fluctuating ADRs, you name it. Managers have been trained to react. But leadership isn’t about reacting. It’s about anticipating, steering, and inspiring.

Let’s talk about revenue management.

One of the reasons customers are concerned about or even scared of AI is that it has been known to provide incorrect answers. The result is frustration and concern over whether to believe any AI-fueled technology. In my annual customer service and customer experience research, I asked more than 1,000 U.S. consumers if they ever received wrong or incorrect information from an AI self-service technology. Fifty-one percent said yes.

Luxury has long been synonymous with seamless indulgence — anticipating every need before it’s voiced, removing every friction, perfecting every detail. But what if the very thing we’ve been perfecting is starting to lose its power?

Revenue management has always been central to hotel performance, but it’s no longer just about ADR and RevPAR. The most innovative hoteliers are shifting their focus toward metrics that capture the whole guest experience – and the revenue it generates.

The sample of branded full-service hotels in Vienna recorded a notable increase in profit during the 12 months ending in June 2025. The GOP per available room (GOP PAR) increased by 13.8% (YoY), driven by a 6.1% revenue rise that outpaced the 2.5% increase in expenses. While revenue growth slowed to 5.4% in H1 2025, it still surpassed expenses (+4.0%), leading to an 8.8% GOP PAR increase.

In the lead up to the Future Hospitality Summit - FHS World 2025, taking place at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai from 27-29 October, Amr El Nady provides insights for international investors looking to enter the UAE’s hospitality sector, including the regulatory framework, market performance and lending and debt liquidity landscape.