Following its announcement in June regarding a series of new technology initiatives aimed at improving operational efficiency, supporting franchisee success and enhancing the guest experience, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is plowing ahead with its use of artificial intelligence, unveiling an “agentic” AI platform now live in roughly seven percent of its more than 8,300 hotels. Speaking on the company’s third-quarter earnings call, CEO Geoffrey Ballotti said Wyndham has deployed 250 AI agents that are already handling hundreds of thousands of guest calls across the portfolio. The technology supports a range of service functions, from modifying bookings to offering travel recommendations and managing upsell opportunities such as early check-in, late checkout, and room upgrades.

The initiative represents one of the hotel industry’s first large-scale deployments of agentic AI — systems capable not only of responding to guest requests but of executing certain tasks autonomously. Ballotti described the technology as a way to relieve pressure on franchisees by automating labor-intensive functions. “We’re taking labor-intense tasks away from our franchisees,” he said. “We’re allowing them to make extra money by seamlessly selling an early check-in or late checkout… or an upgrade or amenities.”

According to Ballotti, Wyndham’s broader AI suite has already handled more than half a million customer interactions, reducing average handle time by 25 percent and improving direct contribution by nearly 300 basis points for hotels using the tools to their full potential. The company’s technology partners on the project include OpenAI, Canary Technologies, Salesforce, and Oracle, each contributing components for language processing, automation, and integration across systems.

Wyndham’s expansion of AI mirrors a growing movement across the hospitality sector to improve efficiency and service quality through automation. Marriott International has attributed parts of its digital transformation success to AI initiatives that enhance employee productivity and guest engagement, while Hilton Worldwide has reported more than 40 active AI use cases ranging from back-office efficiency to customer-experience personalization. Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta described the company’s focus as understanding “the art of the possible” when it comes to emerging AI applications, noting that each use case is evaluated based on its maturity and impact.

For Wyndham, the introduction of what it calls “Agentic AI by Wyndham” appears to be the start of a broader transformation rather than a single initiative. The company has framed the technology as an extension of its Wyndham AI platform, designed to strengthen franchisee economics and improve guest experience simultaneously. Ballotti emphasized that the early results demonstrate measurable operational benefits while freeing up on-property teams to focus more on hospitality than on transaction management.

The move comes at a time when hotel operators are facing persistent cost and labor pressures. After several quarters of uneven travel demand and inflationary headwinds, technology investments that can both reduce workload and generate incremental revenue are drawing new attention from hospitality executives. Wyndham’s decision to roll out AI agents at scale, rather than limit adoption to pilot programs, signals a degree of confidence in the technology’s reliability and economic upside.

Still, significant questions remain about scalability and governance. Extending AI-driven operations across thousands of independently owned hotels will require rigorous data integration and clear oversight to ensure service quality and brand consistency. Guest perception is another consideration, as the balance between automation and human interaction remains delicate in hospitality environments built on personal service. Ballotti’s framing of AI as a tool to “allow franchisees to make extra money” rather than to replace staff suggests Wyndham is positioning the technology as an enabler, not a disruptor.

Wyndham’s early results point to tangible progress: faster service, higher booking conversion, and measurable gains in profitability. Yet the company and its peers are still in the early stages of understanding how deeply AI can influence hotel operations. As Ballotti noted, the company is “only beginning to unlock what Wyndham AI can deliver.” If these early metrics hold and adoption continues to expand, Wyndham could become one of the first major hotel chains to demonstrate how agentic AI can be deployed at scale without undermining the core human dimension of hospitality.

By Orit Naomi, HTN staff writer

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