89% of guests want AI working behind the scenes, not running the front desk, Mews finds

Global survey of 3,250 travelers shows guests aren't rejecting AI – they're drawing a clear line between where it belongs and where they still want a person

Key findings:

• 89% of guests want either a balanced mix of AI and human-led hospitality or AI only working behind-the-scenes on repetitive tasks
• 75% say good hospitality depends on human staff, regardless of the technology behind it
• 59% believe that AI should take over repetitive tasks and save more room for hotel staff to build rapport and trust with the guest community
• Humans are preferred over AI at all nine touchpoints tested - including the most automatable task - arranging taxis - where 44% still chose a human over 28% who chose AI

NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- New survey data released today by Mews, the operating system for hospitality, shows that as AI adoption in hotels accelerates, guest expectations are moving the opposite way - 89% of guests want either a hybrid stay blending AI and human service, or AI operating quietly in the background on repetitive tasks. Almost none want an AI-led stay.

59% of guests believe that AI should take over repetitive tasks, so hoteliers can instead focus on building trust with their guests. At a time when AI adoption in hotels has never moved faster, guests have never been clearer that they still want a human at the center of the stay - not at every point in it.

Attitudes toward AI during a stay: human connection is still important

That preference for a hybrid stay comes from somewhere specific: guests still want a human present. Even for the most automatable task tested – arranging taxis – 44% of guests chose a human over 28% who chose AI. The gap narrows as tasks get more transactional – room service orders come close to an even split (50% human vs. 23% AI) – then widens sharply wherever judgement, personalization or trust is involved: bar & restaurant service (72% prefer a human), front desk welcome (66%), and check-in & key (58%).

The pattern isn't an argument against automation – it's a guide to where it belongs. 75% of guests say good hospitality depends on human staff regardless of the technology behind it, which is exactly why hotels that unify guest data across every system are best positioned to use AI well: freeing staff from the admin and fragmentation that keep them at a screen instead of with a guest.

What this means for hotels: Automate the mundane, not the moments

This data shows that opportunity isn't in building AI-first experiences; it's in automating the mundane, so staff have more time for the moments that need a person. That means automated check-in and check-out, AI-driven upsells and room personalization, and real-time translation and guest messaging that handle routine questions instantly, plus the behind-the-scenes work (i.e. pricing, housekeeping coordination, reporting) that guests never see but that otherwise pull staff away from being in front of them.

"Guests are telling us exactly where they want AI and where they don't," said Richard Valtr, Founder of Mews. "The hotels that win this next decade won't be the ones that automate the most. They'll be the ones whose systems are unified enough that AI can actually deliver a new way of operating, and where staff can get back to providing a genuine human experience."

Travelers aren't rejecting AI outright; they're rejecting AI they can't see or control. The hotels that get this right won't be the ones automating the most, but the ones choosing carefully where automation belongs and leaving people everywhere else. The same goes for jobs: 67% of guests would worry about staff losing their jobs to AI, and 51% disagree that they wouldn't care if a hotel cut staff to adopt it.

This survey took place in July 2026 and covered 3,250 travelers across France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US.

About Mews 

Mews is the operating system for hospitality, unifying workflows across revenue, operations and the guest journey so teams can automate the mundane and focus on memorable guest experiences. The Mews platform spans PMS, POS, RMS, Housekeeping and Payments, helping hoteliers move from property management to profit management. Powering 15,000 customers across 85 countries, the company was named Best PMS (2024, 2025, 2026), Best POS (2026) and listed among the Best Places to Work in Hotel Tech for six years running by Hotel Tech Report.

Media contact: [email protected] 

SOURCE Mews