Kate Fox - Opening Keynote
Kate Fox will share ways in which the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism is
using AI for destination marketing, as well as trends and practices that are evolving
in the tourism industry. Whether it's helping bust through writer's block, contribute
to a concept brainstorm, or enhancing targeted content creation, AI has become an
asset to productivity for MOTT.
Robert Botto - Automate Customer Responses with AI Dive into practical AI implementation with
a session focused on automating customer support responses for small-to-medium businesses
(SMBs).
This presentation demonstrates how to leverage cloud technology, specifically Claude
Desktop, to draft automated replies through Gmail accounts. Attendees will watch a
live, step-by-step demo showing how to connect Claude and set up routines to draft
responses to dummy support information.
The session includes a valuable, beginner-style section on prompting methodology,
introducing the "three C's" framework to help attendees contextualize their prompts
for better, more iterative outputs. This will be an interactive workshop, encouraging
participants to follow along collectively and build their own automation using an
example prompt displayed on a projector.
Finally, participants will receive a handout with contact information to aid in troubleshooting
and ongoing reference after the session.
Susie Arnett - Practical AI for Hospitality: Lessons from Building an AI Teammate Technology has
always transformed the hospitality industry, from online booking to mobile check-in,
but artificial intelligence represents a fundamentally different shift. Yet you don't
need to be a programmer or engineer to begin using it. No coding. No engineering degree.
Just curiosity.
In this session, Susie Arnett, a hospitality executive with decades of experience
designing wellness experiences around the world, shares her journey from experimenting
with simple AI prompts to building an AI-powered assistant that supports wellness
retreat sales. Along the way, she'll explore what she built, what surprised her most,
and why the greatest opportunity isn't replacing people with AI, it's empowering hospitality
professionals to solve real business challenges while spending more time doing what
they do best: creating meaningful human experiences.
Adam Graney - Beyond Prompting in Hospitality Adam will explore how the conversation around AI
adoption in business has rapidly evolved. Just a year ago, many business leaders,
employees, and freelancers were focused on learning how to structure better prompts
and use the features inside retail AI models more effectively.
Today, that discussion is shifting toward building custom AI-integrated software solutions
that solve specific business problems and create lasting competitive advantage. This
program will examine why businesses need to move beyond simply asking how they are
using AI tools and begin asking what AI solutions they should build, buy, or integrate.
Attendees will leave with a a better understanding of how to approach the buy-versus-build
decision, and position their organizations for the next stage of AI adoption.
Matt Mervis - Closing Keynote Future-Looking Innovation in Hospitality will bring the workshop's
core themes together into a practical, next-step strategy for hospitality leaders.
After exploring how AI can help capture streamline customer support, how businesses
can do more with less through automation, and how the build-versus-buy equation has
changed, this closing keynote will re-scan the AI landscape through a hospitality
lens. Attendees will see how these themes connect across marketing, operations, guest
services, staffing, and revenue growth.
The session will close with a “next day” game plan, helping leaders identify what
to assess, what to prioritize, and what actions they can take immediately to move
from AI curiosity to measurable business value.
Open Q&A: AI in Tourism and Hospitality will give audience members the opportunity to ask
presenters specific questions about AI adoption, use cases, challenges, and opportunities
within the tourism and hospitality industries.
This interactive discussion is designed to address real-world questions from attendees,
whether they are exploring AI for the first time or considering more advanced custom
solutions. Presenters will field questions on practical applications, implementation
strategy, vendor decisions, department-specific opportunities, and how AI can support
stronger guest experiences and business outcomes.
