AI in hospitality: When it works and when it doesn't

While AI can carry out some hospitality-related administrative tasks, there is no replacement for how a human employee contributes to the guest experience, says Bettina Deynes, global chief human resources officer for Carnival Corp.

Cruise line operator Carnival is using AI for various aspects of its operations and is encouraging employees to submit their own ideas for AI use cases. However, like many other companies, Carnival has encountered challenges with its AI implementation, Deynes says.

Editor's note: This interview was edited for length and clarity.

What do you believe HR's role should be for a company's AI adoption?

Bettina Deynes: I believe HR is co-leading those efforts because we are the ones responsible for the architecture of how we work. And so, we have a very impactful role.

But I don't think it just belongs in HR. It has to be a business enterprise effort.

How is Carnival currently using AI?

Deynes: We are embedding it in a lot of what we do in the HR space, like with talent acquisition. We are creating platforms that integrate with our HCM systems to help us, for example, better process resumes and filter them and make sure that we identify the best candidates for the role. We are also using it in our casino operations and how they interpret data.

We have taken an internal approach of building AI from within by creating roles that support and lead the function across the enterprise. We created an AI council that meets on a regular basis to see what our employees are creating.

Bettina Deynes

We're working with a small company out of Miami that is helping us build technology, because we understand it's better if we do it from within. We're also leveraging Copilot, Claude and ChatGPT at the enterprise level to really enhance what we're doing.

Employees create AI use cases on their own and then they bring them to the council?

Deynes: Employees come in, and they ask for financial investments for their AI ideas, and the council reviews and approves them.

And then we bring them all to the AI summit that we hold every year -- this year will be our second year hosting it -- and we showcase the best results and outcomes.

What are some of the challenges, if any, that Carnival has encountered with implementing AI?

Deynes: First is the buy-in, and I think employees, for the most part, were very skeptical at the beginning. There was the whole notion of, is AI going to replace our jobs? So, we have gotten through that, and we're in a much better position now. But that was a challenge, and we needed to communicate change management.

Another challenge is dealing with five different generations in the workforce, where some of them are heavily dependent [on AI] to the point that they might lose their own critical thinking and creativity, and some are just not as quick to adopt. We needed to build the business case for how AI is not going to replace your job. And I think that's been incredibly effective.

Another challenge is that there's so much out there, and there are so many companies trying to showcase their technology and consultants -- big companies, small companies. We had to determine the best approach.

Do you have any AI-related advice for other companies in the hospitality industry?

Deynes: I think AI offers an opportunity to enhance the guest experience.

We get so many emails, and anything that is received by email, AI can help us respond in a way that really represents the brand well. There are a lot of customer service touchpoints that are administrative, so for us in the hospitality industry, AI is a benefit when used well.

Are there any specific tasks that you think should still be carried out by human employees?

Deynes: The human in the loop, as they call it, it's in our industry -- it's paramount to what we do. It's not our ships or the beautiful destinations or the food or the shows, it's the people who deliver on the guest experience, who create the unforgettable experience. That's never going to change. There's never going to be a robot doing this on behalf of our people.

We believe the AI impact will be on transactional and administrative, not on the human touch aspect.

Does Carnival have any upcoming AI plans?

Deynes: We just went into production with the tool that we will be using in talent acquisition. Now we're strategizing for what is next.

We're really going to continue through the whole employee lifecycle, from before an employee joins the organization until they retire. There are so many touch points where AI can be helpful.

Molly Clancy is the senior site editor for Informa TechTarget's SearchHRSoftware and SearchERP sites.