The recent Revenue Management & Pricing Society event at Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas) brought together industry professionals, academics, and students to explore the growing impact of artificial intelligence on revenue management. The central question was clear: how is AI reshaping decision-making in hospitality?
A key insight from the event is that AI is not simply enhancing existing practices, but fundamentally transforming the role of the revenue manager. The focus is shifting from price optimization toward total profitability, requiring a broader and more integrated perspective across all revenue streams. As a result, traditional metrics such as RevPAR are increasingly complemented by indicators like TRevPAR and GOPPAR.
From an educational and research perspective, this shift has important implications. Future hospitality professionals must develop not only analytical and technical skills, but also critical thinking, contextual awareness, and the ability to work effectively with AI-driven systems.
During the sessions, Wouter van Tankeren (BUas) highlighted how AI-generated recommendations are constructed and emphasized a key limitation: AI lacks contextual understanding and does not recognize its own errors. This underscores the importance of human oversight and the ability to critically assess AI outputs. The concept of “cognitive surrendering”—the tendency to accept AI recommendations without question—illustrates a growing challenge for both education and practice.
Wouter Geerts (Mews) positioned these developments within a broader industry context marked by rising costs, labor shortages, and increasing complexity. AI adoption is accelerating rapidly, with applications ranging from generative tools to fully integrated systems. At the same time, the emergence of agentic AI—systems capable of acting autonomously—signals a further shift in how decisions are made and executed within organizations.
Patty de Gruiter (Borealis Hotel Group) emphasized that successful AI implementation depends less on technology and more on leadership, governance, and data quality. For educators, this reinforces the need to prepare students for roles in which they do not simply operate systems, but actively shape, question, and guide them.
The discussions highlighted that hospitality is entering a transitional phase. AI can enhance efficiency and uncover new opportunities, but human judgment remains essential to interpret context, make informed decisions, and ensure responsible use.
For institutions such as Hotel Management School Leeuwarden, these developments underline the importance of continuously aligning education, research, and industry practice. Preparing students for an AI-driven future requires not only new tools, but also new ways of thinking about decision-making, leadership, and value creation.
The next Revenue Management & Pricing Society event will take place on 6 October.