Marriott Is Deploying a Front Desk AI Tool. It Took Time to Get it Right
Photo Credit: Naveen Manga, global chief technology officer for Marriott International (left), and Kurien Jacob, partner and managing director for Highgate Technology Ventures, at the Skift Data and AI Summit 2025. Skift
Skift Take
The takeaway is to start small: “You don’t have to build the most transformative thing overnight.”
Marriott is preparing to deploy an AI tool that should automate the complicated task of hotel room assignment for front desk staff.
“Essentially, taking hours and hours of manual work — all that heads down work the associates do — and in a fraction of a second, 1.2 million rooms can be assigned,” said Naveen Manga, global chief technology officer for Marriott International, at the Skift Data and AI Summit on Wednesday.
Front desk staff have a lot to consider when preparing to assign rooms each morning: Upcoming arrivals, guests preferences, reservation preferences, current occupancy, length of stay, loyalty statuses, and more. And any changes
