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Presently, LLMs do not have abundant images and material, such as images of the rooms and features, that customers generally demand when making hotel bookings, Kletzel stated., on the other hand, has rapidly broadened in current years.

Beyond the guest experience, agentic commerce has the potential to move the way hotel business' client service groups operate and are structured, Klein said. "Will there be some corporations that find the chance to lower personnel? Yes," Klein stated. However brand names that believe in great consumer experience and service will learn that AI might help their agents "get associated with more complicated, more business-critical discussions that help grow the service." In 2025, Hyatt minimized staff by around 30% throughout its guest services and assistance teams "in reaction to the evolving nature of guest questions and shifting organization needs," per the business.

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This year, a number of collection brand names that launched in 2025 will continue to expand. Extra brand-new brands and collaborations, especially in the lifestyle segment, will likely debut as well, according to hospitality experts. In 2025, Marriott launched two collection brand names: Series by Marriott, playing in the upscale area in the U.S., and Outdoor Collection, exclusively focused on outdoor lodgings in destinations near national forests, deserts, ski locations and shorelines.

Marriott's Outdoor Collection offers special lodgings in locations near national parks, deserts, ski locations and shorelines.

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Hilton's Outset Collection, particularly, has more than 60 hotels in the works throughout the U.S. and Canada, Kevin Osterhaus, president of way of life brands at Hilton, told Hotel Dive. Start is currently exploring possible new locations in San Diego, Los Angeles and Virginia Beach, Virginia, as well as markets in New Mexico and Colorado in 2026, Osterhaus said.

"Collection brands are appealing due to the fact that they offer the best of both worlds: Owners keep the distinct DNA of their property, while opening worldwide distribution, earnings management, loyalty and support. Kevin Osterhaus President of way of life brands at Hilton From the visitor perspective, independent shop hotels are preferable due to the fact that they offer genuine experiences, Gabriel Perez, chief running officer of lodging at The Indigo Road Hospitality Group, informed Hotel Dive.

As for why the hotel companies are going after independents in the lifestyle section, "it's not about the visitors. It's about creating sub-brands within their own brands to satisfy financiers' needs and to satisfy owner and developers' goals," Perez stated. JLL's Davis echoed that sentiment, telling Hotel Dive that the market is at the point of, if not past the point of, brand saturation, as "public business [are] under a remarkable quantity of pressure for net unit growth." This, in turn, puts even more pressure on hotel companies "to produce brands, micro brands and subsets of brand names in order to expand their footprint of existing properties," Davis stated.

Hilton's collection brand names' "distinct positioning and storytelling continue to drive interest across chain scales," Osterhaus stated. According to Bobby Molinary, Marriott's primary development officer for select brand names, interest in Marriott's brand-new collection brand names comes amid a difficult high-cost-of-construction environment that has made it "increasingly hard to construct brand-new hotels." Series and Outdoor Collection, both conversion-friendly offerings, refer to an ownership neighborhood and developers who "are continuously trying to find ways to grow, and conversions represent a path for growth," Molinary said.

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This year, Hilton plans to stay "really active in the way of life space through tactical partnerships, brand-new signings and ongoing growth of our present brands," Osterhaus stated. Another growing area is the high-end section.

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That trend is anticipated to continue in 2026 as high-end consumers drive travel spending and hotel reservations amidst a wealth bifurcation at play in the market. "High-net-worth tourists are anticipated to remain among the most reliable chauffeurs of global travel spending next year," Giray Boran, handling director of BLG Capital, informed Hotel Dive.