The 2026 Agenda

Sign-Up is Required - please RSVP via https://destinationaiforum.com/kalibri-workshop-rsvp

In response to structural profit challenges, the hotel industry is reimagining how to operate and fill hotels. Destination AI brings you a practical, owner-focused workshop on how AI can be leveraged for hotel profitability—from revenue strategy and distribution to operational efficiency, guest experience, and smarter tradeoff decisions.

This is an interactive working session designed to move past high-level hype around AI and focus on execution. Because every incremental $1 of profit contribution leads to more than $10 in hotel asset value growth, attendees will benefit from concrete examples, a clear framework to address margin compression, and realistic ways to win in a tough climate.

Actual case studies will be shared of successful AI implementation along with roundtable discussions to enable a dialogue between those with AI expertise and those interested to learn more about profit strategy applications.

This session has limited capacity. Advance sign-up is required, and lunch will be included.

A welcome to Destination AI, an introduction to your emcees for the next two days, David Millili and Steve Carran of The Modern Hotelier, and a look at the key questions shaping this year’s conversations.

A first look at findings from a recent State of Hotel AI research report, highlighting how hoteliers are adopting, investing in, and measuring AI across their organizations.

Real-world examples from hospitality leaders and consultants on AI use cases, early results, and what teams are learning through implementation.

A conversation with Hilton’s technology leadership on how large hospitality organizations are approaching AI, innovation, and enterprise-scale change.

A discussion on how hospitality leaders are managing AI-driven change, balancing people and technology, and preparing teams to adopt new tools in day-to-day operations.

A data-driven look at how AI is showing up in guest engagement across Canary’s 20,000+ hotel customers, with practical insights on how these tools are improving guest satisfaction, operational efficiency, and revenue generation.

A practical conversation on the legal, privacy, and risk considerations hotel leaders need to understand as AI adoption accelerates.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming hospitality, yet many organizations still struggle to translate AI investments into measurable business results. The problem isn't a lack of AI capabilities. It's an execution gap. Disconnected systems, fragmented guest data and manual workflows prevent intelligence from reaching the people and processes where value is created. Success no longer depends on deploying more AI. It depends on operationalizing it.
Join Frank Pitsikalis, SVP of Product Strategy at Agilysys, for a practical discussion on what separates AI leaders from AI experimenters. Learn why connected guest data is the foundation for every successful AI initiative, how intelligent guest profiles enable real-time personalization across the guest journey, and why AI creates value only when it influences decisions while they still matter.

The first annual Destination AI Start-Up Competition will spotlight emerging hospitality AI companies, with finalists pitching live for both a Judges’ Award and a People’s Choice Award.

Meet the Finalists:

01. Ella
Founder: Cleo Pontone, Founder
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Website: Ella demo site
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cleopontone/
Ella helps hotel acquisition teams underwrite ten times more deals without growing headcount. By aggregating deal flow, automating financial model development, and augmenting underwriting with public records research, permit data, and property improvement plan benchmarks, Ella enables teams to evaluate opportunities before they go stale. The result is more deals reviewed, stronger data quality, and fewer costly surprises after closing.

02. FlowStay AI
Founder: Eric Sanchez, CEO and Co-Founder
Location: San Francisco, California
Website: flowstay.ai
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericsanchezcurti/
FlowStay gives independent and luxury hotels access to the AI voice and concierge capabilities that were previously available primarily to large hotel brands. The platform answers calls around the clock in the guest’s preferred language, books rooms, and accepts payment directly during the call, helping hotels capture after-hours demand without requiring a human handoff.
FlowStay also supports the full in-stay guest journey, including dining, spa, valet, and transportation requests, transforming each interaction into a live, visual hospitality experience.

03. AI Hospitality Group
Founder: Kishan Dahya, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Location: Dallas, Texas
Website: aihospitalitygroup.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kishan-dahya/
AI Hospitality Group is an AI-native hotel service provider that signs management agreements and assumes responsibility for property-level profit and loss, rather than operating solely as a software vendor.
More than 30 AI agent modules support back-office functions such as accounting, procurement, revenue management, recruiting, and distribution, allowing hotel teams to spend more time focused on the guest experience. The company is targeting more than 500 basis points of GOP margin improvement per property.

04. Goldi
Founder: Andrea Laderman, CEO
Location: Los Angeles, California
Website: ordergoldi.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-laderman-8211852/
Many hotel and restaurant guests have dietary restrictions, yet they often under-order or opt out when menus do not clearly accommodate their needs. Goldi allows guests to share their dietary preferences and instantly receive a menu that is clear, personalized, and abundant.
The platform requires no technology integration or menu changes. Hospitality partners can use Goldi to build guest trust and loyalty, increase revenue, and gain actionable data to support menu optimization.

05. Caleta
Founder: Daniel Hersey, CEO and Founder
Location: Seattle, Washington
Website: caleta.us
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-hersey/
Caleta connects and analyzes information across a hotel’s operational, reputation, and financial systems to drive measurable, lasting improvements.
The platform identifies guest and operational issues that often remain hidden between disconnected systems, preserves institutional knowledge despite high industry turnover, and helps hotel teams take actions that positively affect the property’s profit and loss. Caleta also helps hotels address potential guest dissatisfaction before it becomes a negative review, supporting stronger reputation performance and revenue.

06. StayFull
Founder: Mergim Kacija, Founder and CEO
Location: Miami, Florida
Website: stayfull.ai
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/investormergim/
StayFull provides an affordable, full-stack AI platform designed to help independent hotels manage their day-to-day business.
The platform is built around ten specialized AI agents that act as domain experts across functions such as marketing, revenue management, and hotel operations. By bringing these capabilities into one solution, StayFull aims to reduce independent hoteliers’ dependence on multiple third-party systems. The company’s goal is to serve more than 1,000 hotels and expand into additional hospitality services.

For fifty years, software has waited, for a keystroke, a click, a command. Jim helped build that world twice: QDOS, the operating system that became MS-DOS, and the Amazon Marketplace, the platform that rewired global commerce. Now, Jim argues, the waiting is over. Software is learning to act; booking, buying, negotiating, coordinating, and machines will influence trillions of dollars in transactions by 2030. Yet intelligence isn't the hard part; trust and orchestration are. Jim will walk through computing's third paradigm and the network architecture a trillion-actor economy requires, and what leaders must do before software stops waiting for them.

Destination AI kicks off Day 1 with appetizers, drinks, and an evening of networking to welcome hospitality leaders, innovators, and the broader community.

Start the day with breakfast, coffee, and informal networking with fellow Destination AI attendees before programming begins.

A discussion on how AI can help hotels identify risk, strengthen safety protocols, and support human trafficking prevention across properties and teams.

This session explores how companies can empower teams to use tools like Claude to code and create workflows, while setting the right guardrails around data access, permissions, token usage, costs and human approval.

Today’s guests are increasingly asking AI where to stay, and this session offers a practical playbook for showing up in those recommendations, from benchmarking AI search visibility to creating citable content, strengthening technical foundations, and building websites that convert both guests and AI agents. Real properties and real numbers will ground each step.

Hotel owners and investors discuss how they evaluate AI investments, what returns matter most, and where technology can create measurable asset value.

A research-led conversation on how different customer segments are using AI, what behaviors vary by traveler type, and what these insights mean for hotel brands, operators, and technology leaders.

Six hotel groups and their vendor partners will share real AI implementations, early results, ROI considerations, and lessons learned from the field. Speakers to be announced by early September.

Lunch will be open for 2 hours and 30 mins, with optional roundtables and sessions taking place throughout. Use the time however is most valuable to you, whether that means networking, meeting with peers, or joining a focused discussion.

Join a small-group discussion, with different tables focused on different challenges, use cases and functions. Topics and sign-ups will be announced in September.

A look at how hotels can prepare as AI agents begin booking rooms, comparing options, managing preferences, and influencing where travelers stay.

This session explores the leadership, governance, data, team alignment, and change management required to move AI from isolated pilots to organization-wide impact.

Join senior technology policy leaders for an executive fireside chat on the shifting regulatory landscape. As artificial intelligence transforms hotel operations and guest engagement, Washington’s role in AI governance, consumer data privacy, and cybersecurity standards is rapidly evolving.
Panelists will break down active federal policy proposals and regulatory developments and analyze what the upcoming midterm elections could mean for hospitality. Don’t miss this opportunity to strategic foresight into what’s ahead in Washington, how potential Congressional power shifts, emerging compliance mandates, and implications for the tech stack.

A global look at where AI can enhance the guest experience, where human service remains essential, and how hospitality leaders are balancing efficiency, personalization, and genuine care.

Brand leaders discuss how their AI initiatives will improve efficiency, grow revenue, and drive stronger bottom-line results for owners.

Close out Destination AI at Casamara Rooftop with drinks, light bites, and a final opportunity to connect with fellow attendees.