ITB Berlin Insights: The Rise of AI Agents in Hospitality Operations

Artificial intelligence dominated the conversation at ITB Berlin this year. Yet beyond the buzz around new tools and demonstrations, a deeper shift is beginning to take shape.

The future of hospitality technology will not simply be about adding AI capabilities to existing systems. Instead, the industry is moving toward connected ecosystems where intelligent agents support and orchestrate hotel operations in real time.

While many current AI applications focus on guest-facing interactions, the most significant transformation is likely to happen behind the scenes i.e. within the operational infrastructure of hotels themselves.

AI’s next frontier: operational intelligence

AI has already made meaningful progress in guest communications. Conversational tools are increasingly capable of handling inquiries, supporting bookings, and assisting guests throughout their stay.

The next wave of transformation, however, will take place within hotel operations.

In the near future, hospitality organizations will begin deploying specialized AI agents designed for specific operational roles, mirroring the teams that run hotels today.

These agents may support areas such as:

• Front desk workflows

• Revenue management insights

• Housekeeping coordination

• Sales and distribution optimization

By continuously observing operational data across PMS, CRM and other systems, these agents can learn from existing workflows, identify inefficiencies and automate repetitive tasks.

Over time, many of these agents will move beyond recommendations and begin executing operational actions directly within hotel systems, becoming embedded into daily hotel operations.

From concept to reality: introducing Vela

At ITB Berlin, Sirma presented a practical example of this vision in action.

Built on the Sirma.AI Enterprise platform, the Travel & Hospitality team demonstrated Vela live at ITB, showing how a guest can interact naturally via voice or chat to check availability, request services, or receive real-time answers – while Vela connects directly to the hotel’s PMS in the background.

The name Vela originates from the Bulgarian name Velichka, meaning great or grand – reflecting the ambition to elevate hospitality experiences through intelligent technology.

While Vela focuses on the guest journey, its purpose is broader than a single use case. It illustrates how AI agents can operate within a hotel’s technology ecosystem, interacting with multiple systems and responding dynamically to guest needs.

The response from industry partners at ITB was very encouraging. Conversations quickly moved beyond curiosity about AI and toward practical operational applications within hotel environments.

Vela represents only the first step.

A broader roadmap of hospitality-focused AI agents is already under development on the Sirma.AI Enterprise platform, supporting areas such as front desk operations, revenue management, housekeeping coordination, and cross-department workflows, with further operational areas currently in development.

Enabling innovation without disrupting ecosystems

Supporting this transformation requires a different type of technology partnership.

At Sirma Travel & Hospitality, this approach is reflected in our 360 Connect framework, which was also presented at ITB.

The framework is designed to support hospitality technology vendors and hotel brands across the entire lifecycle of their platforms – from bespoke development and integrations to AI enablement and operational scaling.

This includes:

• Developing tailored software solutions

• Designing and maintaining integrations

• Supporting vendor onboarding and platform scaling

• Embedding AI capabilities into existing systems

• Providing long-term technology partnership and development support

Crucially, the intellectual property remains with the client. The goal is not to control the ecosystem but to help partners accelerate innovation while maintaining full ownership of their platforms.

Security and governance in the AI era

As AI becomes more deeply embedded within hospitality systems, data governance and cybersecurity move from supporting considerations to core architectural requirements.

AI agents process natural language, connect across multiple systems, and execute actions in real time – introducing security risks that go beyond what traditional hotel IT frameworks were built to handle. Guests interacting directly with AI, and the integrations linking it to core hotel systems, both represent potential vulnerabilities that require deliberate governance.

At Sirma, security is built into every layer of our AI deployments – informed by years of serving highly regulated industries across Europe.

This approach ensures that hospitality organizations can adopt AI capabilities while maintaining the security, compliance and reliability required for mission-critical operational environments.

The next phase of hospitality technology

Looking ahead three to five years, hospitality technology ecosystems may increasingly operate with libraries of AI agents working alongside human teams.

These agents could monitor workflows, coordinate activities across systems and manage routine operational processes in the background.

The goal is not to replace the human element that defines hospitality. Instead, intelligent systems will help reduce operational complexity – allowing hotel teams to focus on what hospitality has always been about: creating exceptional guest experiences.

To learn more about Sirma’s Travel & Hospitality solutions or to schedule a demonstration of Vela, visit www.sirma.ai or contact the team at [email protected] or [email protected]