I'm not ready to depend on AI as part of the pre-booking / selling process. But post-booking is different. At our lodge we have been using various info resources for guests over the years. I believe AI represents the biggest opportunity to replace guidebooks (paper or digital). AIPEX just launched a free no-download app for guest's phones. There are lots of options for tools like this. But the latest AI applied as a guest tool for Airbnbs and available for free is a good thing.
Prebooking, I am always trying to get to know the guest, make sure our property is a good fit and that they have all the right expectations and are going to be happy. That interaction is valuable to me. Yes it takes time. If I can save time on the backend of a booking by allowing the guest to self-serve for information, that helps balance it out. That's why I pushed the team to take our IP and make something powerful that could be free to hosts. I've been hosting for almost 20 years and working with AI and STRs at AIPEX for the last 6. It is an exciting space, especially this past year.
