Zsuzsa Deli-Gray (ed.)

Cases in Tourism Marketing III

Deus Ex Machina Hospitalitatis: An Inquiry into the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Securing Occupancy in New Orleans. Or, How the Ghost in the Machine Became the Hotelier’s Most Trusted (and Least Complaining) Confidant

Balázs Nagy

Dave Krasner sat in quiet contemplation in his New Orleans office. Outside, the perpetual, jazz-infused cacophony of the French Quarter provided the soundtrack to one of humanity’s most ancient, yet thoroughly modern dramas: the struggle for hotel occupancy. Amidst the wrought-iron balconies and the somewhat oppressive humidity, Mr. Krasner was wrestling with the metaphysical conundrum that serves as the Alpha and Omega of the hospitality industry. The objective, though often dressed in the lofty vestments of "optimised revenue streams" and "market penetration," was, in fact, terribly prosaic: to put more "heads in beds." It was a battle fought daily on the spreadsheets of revenue managers and in the unanswered inboxes of the sales team, a relentless pursuit of occupancy in a market saturated with choice.

Before we delve into Mr. Krasner's specific battlefield, it is crucial for students to understand the broader strategic landscape. The integration of Artificial Intelligence into tourism and hospitality is not merely a trend; it is a fundamental operational shift, arguably the most significant since the advent of online booking ( McKinsey and Company, 2024 ). Beyond automated chatbots, AI now powers dynamic pricing models that adjust in real-time, personalises guest experiences at a granular level, and optimises back-of-house operations – cusing predictive models to schedule housekeeping routes and even forecast F&B demand ( The Business Research Company, 2025 ; McKinsey and Company, 2025 ). Industry leaders are unequivocal in their assessment.As Marriott International's CEO, Anthony Capuano, notes, AI is a tool for empowerment ( Hospitality Net, 2023 ): 'We see AI… as a tool to… free them up from mundane tasks so they can focus on delivering the high-touch service our guests expect.

Mankind, one observes, has desired two things since time immemorial: a comfortable mattress and someone else to foot the bill. But the modern traveller is a sophisticated and ephemeral creature. Mr. Krasner was not some glorified bellhop-turned-manager, content to parrot the threadbare maxim that "the guest is king." He was a strategist of the modern age: armed with the cool, precise logic of Information Technology (IT), balancing precariously at the intersection of server architecture and smiling diplomacy. He had dedicated decades to studying the arcane inner workings of Property Management Systems (PMS).

His frustration with the PMS was symptomatic of a larger issue. The system was a fortress of data, but it was reactive. It told him what had happened, not what could happen. The PMS could report last month's revenue, but it couldn't forecast next month's demand based on fluctuating airfare prices or a newly announced city-wide convention. It could list past guest complaints, but not analyse them in aggregate to reveal a systemic issue with, for example, third-floor room service. This data was a historical artefact, not a strategic weapon. The hotel's sales and marketing efforts were, by extension, traditional: cold calls to lists of meeting planners, generic email blasts, and waiting for the phone to ring. Krasner, with his IT background, saw this not as a sales problem, but as an information retrieval problem. Now, however, he faced a monumental challenge: a 380-room DoubleTree behemoth in the heart of New Orleans, whose endless corridors were often haunted only by the hum of the air conditioning and the ghosts of lost revenue. Occupancy was, frankly, dismal. Krasner knew that the old methods would no longer suffice. Two years prior, he resolved it was high time to harness the silicon-based spirit, Artificial Intelligence (AI), in the service of the bed night.

Tartalomjegyzék

Kiadó: Akadémiai Kiadó

Online megjelenés éve: 2026

ISBN: 978 963 664 217 4

Marketing Turizmus

The publication of the third volume of Cases in Tourism Marketing is truly welcome news from both an educational and a professional perspective. Through real-world, timely, and thought-provoking cases, this collection helps readers – students and practitioners alike – gain a deeper understanding of the complex world of decision-making in tourism marketing. The case studies not only convey professional knowledge but also develop analytical skills, problem-solving abilities, and critical thinking. One of the volume’s key strengths is its focus on issues that define contemporary tourism, including the role of digitalization, artificial intelligence, destination branding, and stakeholder collaboration in tourism marketing. Long-awaited and highly relevant, this third volume is a worthy continuation of the previous collections and will undoubtedly serve as a valuable resource in higher education in tourism, while also being highly recommended to professionals who enjoy reflecting on challenges and opportunities beyond their own immediate field of expertise.

Tamara Ratz PhD

Director, Centre for International Relations, Kodolányi János University

Head of Tourism Department, Professor of Tourism

It is an honor for me to recommend this volume to everyone who wishes to understand tourism marketing not only in theory, but also through its real business and human dimensions. The worlds of tourism and hospitality have undergone fundamental changes in recent years, which makes case studies based on real market situations, decision-making dilemmas and current challenges especially valuable in supporting both learning and critical thinking. This book provides not only professional knowledge, but also encourages a complex mindset, creative problem-solving and the ability to think in connections — exactly the skills today’s tourism professionals need most. I wholeheartedly recommend this volume to students, educators and tourism professionals alike.

Judit Fodor (Liptai)

Group Director of Sales and Marketing, Danubius Hotels

Hivatkozás: https://mersz.hu/deli-gray-cases-in-toursim-marketing-iii//

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