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Currently, LLMs lack rich images and content, such as photos of the spaces and facilities, that consumers normally demand when making hotel reservations, Kletzel said., on the other hand, has rapidly expanded in current years.

Beyond the guest experience, agentic commerce has the prospective to move the method hotel companies' customer support teams operate and are structured, Klein said. "Will there be some corporations that find the opportunity to lower staff? Yes," Klein stated. However brands that believe in excellent customer experience and service will learn that AI could help their agents "get involved in more complicated, more business-critical conversations that help grow the service." In 2025, Hyatt reduced staff by approximately 30% across its visitor services and assistance groups "in action to the developing nature of visitor inquiries and moving company needs," per the company.

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This year, numerous collection brands that launched in 2025 will continue to expand. Additional brand-new brand names and partnerships, especially in the way of life section, will likely debut as well, according to hospitality specialists.

Marriott's Outdoor Collection provides special accommodations in destinations near nationwide parks, deserts, ski areas and coastlines.

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Hilton's Start Collection, specifically, has more than 60 hotels in the works throughout the U.S. and Canada, Kevin Osterhaus, president of lifestyle brands at Hilton, told Hotel Dive. Start is presently checking out possible new locations in San Diego, Los Angeles and Virginia Beach, Virginia, in addition to markets in New Mexico and Colorado in 2026, Osterhaus stated.

"Collection brand names are appealing because they offer the finest of both worlds: Owners keep the unique DNA of their property, while unlocking worldwide circulation, profits management, commitment and support. Kevin Osterhaus President of way of life brand names at Hilton From the guest point of view, independent boutique hotels are desirable since they use authentic experiences, Gabriel Perez, primary running officer of accommodations at The Indigo Road Hospitality Group, told Hotel Dive.

Nevertheless, as for why the hotel companies are chasing independents in the lifestyle section, "it's not about the guests. It's about developing sub-brands within their own brands to satisfy investors' requirements and to please owner and designers' objectives," Perez said. JLL's Davis echoed that sentiment, informing Hotel Dive that the industry is at the point of, if not past the point of, brand name saturation, as "public companies [are] under a tremendous amount of pressure for net system growth." This, in turn, puts much more pressure on hotel companies "to develop brands, micro brands and subsets of brand names in order to broaden their footprint of existing possessions," Davis stated.

Hilton's collection brand names' "distinct positioning and storytelling continue to drive interest throughout chain scales," Osterhaus stated. According to Bobby Molinary, Marriott's primary development officer for select brands, interest in Marriott's brand-new collection brands comes amid a difficult high-cost-of-construction environment that has actually made it "increasingly challenging to build new hotels." Series and Outdoor Collection, both conversion-friendly offerings, pertain to an ownership community and designers who "are continuously trying to find methods to grow, and conversions represent a path for development," Molinary said.

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This year, Hilton prepares to stay "very active in the lifestyle space through tactical partnerships, new signings and continuous development of our present brands," Osterhaus said. Another growing area is the luxury sector.

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That pattern is anticipated to continue in 2026 as high-end consumers drive travel costs and hotel reservations amid a wealth bifurcation at play in the industry. "High-net-worth tourists are anticipated to stay one of the most reliable chauffeurs of worldwide travel spending next year," Giray Boran, handling director of BLG Capital, informed Hotel Dive.