Last week, we had the chance to attend the inaugural CIO Summit EMEA, hosted by HFTP at the Renaissance Barcelona Hotel. Against the vibrant backdrop of Barcelona, the event brought together hospitality technology leaders for 24 hours of open conversations and valuable insights, all in a refreshing non-sales environment.
After a welcoming lunch and opening speech from Carson Booth, things quickly picked up pace. It was clear from the start that this summit was about tackling real-world challenges and exploring new opportunities that are shaping our industry.
At the same time, something else stood out during many of the conversations throughout the event. Beyond the strong content of the sessions, CIOs shared how valuable it was simply to connect, share experiences, and exchange ideas with others in the same role. In day-to-day life, those opportunities are rare, and that made the summit feel even more meaningful. Being among peers who understand the unique challenges and pressures of the CIO role created an atmosphere of openness and honesty that is hard to find elsewhere.
The first keynote session focused on how large organisations, such as hotel groups and travel tech firms, can successfully adopt AI within their business operations. Michael Tessler shared insights drawn from years of experience, offering refreshingly straightforward advice: successful AI initiatives must begin with clearly defined business outcomes, not just a fascination with shiny new technology. He emphasized that the biggest hurdle to adoption is often cultural, not technical. Without genuine leadership commitment, even the most promising projects are likely to falter. Tessler illustrated this with examples of companies that had all the right tools but failed because AI was treated as an isolated experiment rather than a strategic priority.
Later in the afternoon, a session titled The Uber Effect with Frank Pitsikalis and Matthew Prosser encouraged hoteliers to rethink control and ownership. Inspired by how Uber redefined transport without owning vehicles, the speakers proposed a model where hotels act more as orchestrators than operators, connecting guests to a network of curated external services like spas, restaurants, or wellness providers. The goal? A frictionless, hyper-personalized experience that reaches beyond the hotel’s four walls. It’s a mindset shift that could unlock new revenue streams and guest satisfaction, without the burden of doing it all in-house.
In a session by James Savory and Paul Murgatroyd, the conversation turned to the evolving expectations of hospitality staff and the role technology can play in supporting them. While the concept of the enterprise browser felt unfamiliar to some, the discussion highlighted a growing challenge: workplace tools are often too complex, adding friction rather than removing it.
The idea behind the enterprise browser is simple but bold. Instead of relying on fragmented systems, hotels could use a secure, centrally managed browser to simplify access, boost security, and tailor the digital experience for staff. This could help seasonal workers get up to speed faster, reduce the risk of errors, and free up IT teams from managing outdated systems. While the use case in hospitality is still emerging, the session raised important questions about how to create more intuitive and flexible work environments without compromising on control or data security.
Later in the afternoon, Stuart Mason from Belmond took the stage to share how commercial and technology teams can work more closely together. With roots in both data science and revenue management, he spoke from experience, showing how aligning tech initiatives with business goals like guest satisfaction and revenue growth can drive real results. At Belmond, technology plays a key role in making things simpler, from AI-generated proposals for guests to performance dashboards that give sales teams real-time insights. Stuart’s mantra, “automate the predictable and humanise the exceptional,” underscored the idea that when IT and commercial teams partner from the start, tech becomes a driver of value, not just a back-office function.
After a nice dinner full of good conversations, and a short night of sleep for many, the second day opened with a session by Tim Butterworth and Colin Barnett, diving into the ongoing debate of best-of-breed versus single vendor strategies. There was no one-size-fits-all answer. Instead, the panel encouraged everyone to look critically at their own situation: What are your internal IT capabilities? How complex is your existing system landscape? How much integration risk can you manage? And what are your long-term strategic goals? Best-of-breed solutions can offer more flexibility and innovation speed, but they require stronger integration skills and vendor management. A single vendor approach, on the other hand, may bring simplicity and smoother upgrades, particularly valuable when internal resources are limited. Their advice was simple but important: do not blindly follow trends, but choose what fits your own organisation best.
In a thought-provoking session titled SaaS Is Dead, Hospitality’s Future Belongs to AI Agents, Uli Pillau and Florian Montag explored how the hotel technology stack is undergoing a radical transformation, from monolithic SaaS platforms to agile, agent-powered ecosystems. The discussion challenged traditional long-term tech procurement strategies, likening system changes to open-heart surgery, and emphasized the need for flexibility, interoperability, and true service-centric partnerships. The panelists and audience shared real-world experiences of selecting CRM and PMS systems, often driven more by service quality and existing integrations than product features. The conversation then shifted toward AI, its potential to reshape hospitality tech, the growing board-level pressure to define an AI strategy, and the emerging concept of intelligent agents that act on business context and data across systems. The session concluded by introducing Model Context Protocols (MCPs) as a new foundation for enabling dynamic, secure interactions between agents and software systems, pointing toward a future where business logic lives above the tech stack, rather than inside it.
After this courageous closing session, the summit wrapped up with short remarks from Justin Taillon and Carson Booth, who thanked everyone for their contributions and open spirit. Although the formal programme had ended, the ideas and conversations sparked in Barcelona will definitely continue well beyond these two days.
At the close of the summit, HFTP invited attendees to share feedback on the experience. The consensus was clear: this was a well-organized and valuable inaugural event, with strong support for making it a recurring fixture. The quality of discussion was matched by the calibre of participants, with executives in attendance from a broad mix of leading hospitality groups, including, amongst others, Belmond, Accor, Rocco Forte, The Dorchester, Cheval, InterContinental, Marriott, Marriott Vacations, Mercan, Tanzera, Meliá, Ennismore, and Firmdale.
A big thank you to HFTP for organising such a valuable event. It was a real pleasure to be there, and I am already looking forward to the next get together at HITEC, June 16 to 19 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, USA.
