Cliste Puts Focus on AI

Cliste Hospitality brought together 400 hoteliers, investors, banks and other tourism industry stakeholders at its second annual conference at Dublin Royal Convention Centre. With a theme this year of Embracing The Future, exploring significant areas of discussion and disruption across hospitality, the focus was firmly on AI, sustainability and future technologies, with John Mullins, Executive Chair at Amarenco, an independent green energy producer, highlighting the need for a coherent national energy policy.

Paul Armstrong, the future technology advisor who is a trusted voice for some of the world’s leading global media outlets, gave a frank presentation on the short term impact of AI in hospitality, encouraging attendees to be bolder, figure out the first thing to be solved in their business with AI, start small and expand from there.

Speaking after the conference, Paul said:

“AI has the potential to make and save the Irish hospitality industry hundreds of millions of euros when applied sensibly. The challenge to the companies is to focus on the right jobs for AI to be applied to, both inside and outside their businesses. Most of all, the opportunity to be bold and show the world what great Irish hospitality can look like with AI is one not to be squandered.”

There were a series of polls taken throughout the day using the Slido App, with 54% of attendees saying they already use AI in their business to some extent, 21% saying they never use it and 25% reporting they rarely use it. 

The afternoon session included a Hospitality Experts panel with John Brennan, Chairman of Klarnet Hospitality and former CEO of Amaris Hospitality and Jury’s Inn; Geraldine Rosney, former proprietor of the award-winning Killeen House Hotel, Killarney; Mary Fitzgerald, founder and director of Fitzgerald’s Woodlands House Hotel, Adare; and Pat McCann, former CEO of Dalata, with the key takeaway being that AI can co-exist with traditional human aspects of hospitality. 

“We are really happy to have a full house and with the level of positive feedback from attendees,” said Paul Fitzgerald, CEO of Cliste Hospitality.

“We were delighted to deliver this second annual conference to our industry colleagues and to build a panel of speakers that could really tackle the theme this year of Embracing The Future,” said Sean O’Driscoll, Director of Hotels, Cliste Hospitality.