How AI Is Helping Hospitality Companies in Belgium Cut Costs and Improve Efficiency

Belgian hotels are already feeling AI's lift: Adyen's 2025 Hospitality and Travel Report found 29% of Belgian travellers used AI to book summer trips, and local gatherings - like the Belgium Hospitality Club's “AI meets Hospitality” evening reported by Hotelvak coverage of the “AI meets Hospitality” event - are urging hoteliers to “do more with less” via automation, personalised search and smarter pricing.

Sector research from CBRE study on AI efficiency and savings in the hotel industry highlights energy and inventory gains, while Accor's cloud‑AI rollout (with Deloitte) shows how bots plus humans preserve the luxury touch.

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We have a mix of advanced bot and a human touch to personalise the conversation with our guests. - Patrice Merrien, Accor Telecom Director – Sales & Distribution

Customer discovery, bookings and payments in Belgium are rapidly shifting from list-based browsing to intent-driven journeys: Adyen's 2025 Hospitality and Travel Report shows 29% of Belgian travellers used AI to book summer trips and 33% of local hospitality businesses expect AI search tools to reshape the sector, which means hotels must turn inspiration into seamless checkout flows or risk losing guests to OTAs and AI agents.

At the same time operators face real payment pain - 84% cite fragmented online and on-site systems that complicate reconciliation, and 42% report rising payment fraud attempts - so platforms that stitch discovery to payment and layer AI fraud tools (Adyen's Protect, which cuts false positives) become essential to reduce checkout friction while protecting revenue.

When data is unified, the business case is clear: real‑time personalisation and dynamic bundling can lift conversion and in‑stay spend, as demonstrated by data platforms powering instant offers and concierge services; Belgian teams that combine AI search optimisation (think localized GEO copy and review‑driven content) with frictionless payments will capture more direct bookings and preserve guest trust.

“AI technology has become incredibly important to guests looking for destination inspiration and quick, fun, and personalized itineraries, especially as summer vacations arrive,” said Phil Crawford, Global Head of Hospitality at Adyen.

Payments are the brittle bridge between inspiration and revenue in Belgian hospitality: Adyen's 2025 report shows 84% of local merchants wrestle with fragmented online and on‑site systems and 42% report rising payment fraud attempts, so checkout friction isn't just an annoyance - it's lost direct bookings and operational headaches unless teams act fast (Adyen 2025 Hospitality & Travel Report - Belgium payments and fraud study).

The fraud threat has been turbocharged by AI‑enabled bad actors, which is why multilayer, real‑time defences that combine device fingerprinting, document intelligence and behavioural scoring are becoming standard practice for hotels and booking platforms (AI multilayer defence for hospitality systems - Autohost blog).

At the same time, smart risk models can actually reduce checkout friction - Adyen's Protect, for example, cuts false positives dramatically so genuine guests aren't blocked by overzealous rules - while Europe's payment processors are deploying deep‑learning checks to spot sophisticated card and identity attacks.

The practical takeaway for Belgian teams: unify payments data, deploy AI‑led fraud scoring, and keep a human review layer to protect trust and avoid the backlash of “algorithmic auditing.”

“AI technology has become incredibly important to guests looking for destination inspiration and quick, fun, and personalized itineraries, especially as summer vacations arrive,” said Phil Crawford, Global Head of Hospitality at Adyen.

Belgian hotels are moving fast from gut-led rate sheets to AI-powered revenue engines that forecast demand and nudge prices in real time: market research predicts the hospitality pricing analytics sector will shift hotels “from reactive to AI-driven predictive revenue management,” and local teams can use these systems to capture event spikes and ancillary spend without frantic, last‑minute manual changes (GMInsights hospitality revenue management market analysis).

For independent and chain properties alike, machine‑learning models stitch together PMS pacing, competitor rates, weather and local search trends to tune room, F&B and package prices; in practice that can look like automated rate uplifts within an hour (one case raised executive‑room rates 22% in a single surge window) and fewer missed opportunities.

Belgian revenue teams should prioritise clean data, cloud RMS integrations and human oversight so AI recommendations (not replacements) drive RevPAR and reduce OTA leakage - paired with local GEO content for Grand‑Place or Atomium periods to convert demand into direct bookings (MyCloud Hospitality real-time hotel pricing examples).

When RMS sensors are tuned properly, AI becomes the hotel's most vigilant commercial colleague, spotting micro‑trends before competitors can react.

“The synergy between AI and human intelligence is crucial for driving a Revenue 360 strategy, empowering Revenue Managers (RMs) to make informed decisions with confidence.” - Álvaro Ponte Blanco, VP of Data at BEONx

Operational automation is turning Belgian hotel back‑offices into quiet engines of service: C‑Hotels' switch to a cloud PMS cut average check‑in from four to two minutes, moved 40% of arrivals online, slashed calls between housekeeping and reception by 93% and even lifted RevPAR by up to 12% - all after five properties went live in three days, showing rapid ROI from the right stack (Mews cloud PMS C‑Hotels automation case study).

Smaller operators see the same pattern: Domani Hotels reduced workload by 50% with a single property management platform and a virtual reception that scales service without adding shifts (Domani Hotels RoomRaccoon virtual reception case study).

Add smart key and self‑check tech to the mix and night‑shift overhead evaporates; contactless Keycafe SmartBox setups enable 24/7 arrivals that save staff hours and protect guest patience (Keycafe SmartBox hotel self-check-in automation case study).

The vivid, measurable payoff for Belgian teams is simple: fewer paper forms and frantic calls, more time spent crafting memorable guest moments - automation reallocates people to hospitality, not to repetition.

“Don't hesitate to move to Mews. Just do it, and don't be afraid of the implementation because it's not that difficult. Mews is a very user friendly PMS and it makes everything much easier. Not only at the front desk, but also at the back office.” - Inge Decuypere, Owner, C‑Hotels

Belgian hotel finance teams can stop drowning in PDFs and start steering strategy: AI invoice capture and AP automation turn piles of supplier bills into instant, searchable data that powers smarter procurement, tighter cash‑flow and faster vendor payments - think MarketMan's instant invoice scanning that removes manual entry and Ottimate's hotel‑focused AP suite that digitizes invoices, applies GL codes and even schedules VendorPay to replace paper checks (MarketMan AI invoice scanning for restaurants, Ottimate AP automation for hotels).

The upshot for Belgium: shorter approval cycles, clearer multi‑property spend visibility and more time for GMs to negotiate contracts or plan maintenance windows - one concrete payoff observed across the sector is that automating daily reports alone can save up to half an hour per hotel each day, freeing staff for revenue‑generating work rather than data entry.

Bigger deployments scale too: AI models have been shown to process thousands of invoices monthly with high accuracy, and AP automation vendors report measurable cuts in operational cost and error rates, so teams that unify supplier data and route exceptions, not entire workflows, will see the quickest wins.

“The OCR element of Concur Invoice is fantastic, the best I've seen in an invoice processing system. Now we can see what's in the pipeline and what will need to be paid next month. It's a great place to be, and a place where every business should be,” - Michael Berry, Head of Change Management, Ingeus

Belgian hotels can turn AI from a novelty into a reliable revenue lever by layering generative models, edge‑based assistants and smart merchandising across the guest lifecycle: use LLMs to produce dynamic, localized content and booking pages that update hero images and copy in seconds, tailor bundles and upsell suggestions at the moment of checkout, and surface just‑in‑time concierge suggestions that match language and preferences - approaches Publicis Sapient highlights for content generation, travel merchandising and customer service (Publicis Sapient generative AI use cases in travel and hospitality).

For Belgian teams worried about latency or GDPR, on‑device processing can keep interactions snappy and data local (generative AI at the edge for hospitality - Avnet Silica).

Practical pilots that mirror Accor's cloud‑plus‑human model - automated answers for routine requests, humans for nuance - both lift conversion and preserve the high‑touch feel that drives repeat stays (Accor and Deloitte customer service transformation case study).

The payoff is tangible: more direct bookings, higher in‑stay spend from timely offers, and personalised journeys that convert curious browsers into loyal guests.

We have a mix of advanced bot and a human touch to personalise the conversation with our guests. - Patrice Merrien, Accor Telecom Director – Sales & Distribution

Fraud prevention and operational AI can shrink costs, but Belgian hoteliers must navigate a strict privacy and governance maze: the Belgian Data Protection Authority's new brochure explains how GDPR principles - lawfulness, transparency, data minimisation and human oversight - apply to AI systems, and links those rules to the EU AI Act that already sets additional transparency and risk‑based duties (Belgian Data Protection Authority brochure on AI and the GDPR).

Practical obligations matter for everyday tools like chatbots, recommender engines and booking‑flow automation: expect tighter rules on automated decision‑making, mandatory risk assessments, DPO involvement and clear retention policies so that guest data used for personalisation doesn't become a compliance liability (Alston & Bird guidance on the interplay between the GDPR and the EU AI Act).

Belgium's regulatory guidance and the AI Act also set hard deadlines and steep penalties - fines climb into the tens of millions or a percentage of worldwide turnover - so embedding DPIAs, human review checkpoints and robust logging isn't optional; it's the business protection that keeps a single non‑compliance from wiping out a marketing or loyalty push overnight (ActLegal analysis of trustworthy AI in Europe).

Belgian hospitality teams that want to convert AI curiosity into lasting advantage should blend pragmatic pilots, local partnerships and staff upskilling: start with targeted pilots that solve measurable pain points (energy and HVAC dashboards, smart pricing, guest‑facing search) and scale what moves the needle, drawing on Deloitte's guidance for sustainable hospitality where one resort cut energy use across 11 sectors through real‑time systems (Deloitte roadmap for sustainable hospitality).

Tap the Belgian AI ecosystem - regional programmes like DigitalWallonia4.ai, Innoviris and VLAIO offer coaching, vouchers and R&D links outlined in the Belgium AI Strategy (Belgium AI Strategy - AI Watch report) - so projects get technical support and funding pathways.

Pair technology pilots with clear governance, DPIAs and staff training: practical, workplace-focused courses such as Nucamp's AI Essentials for Work teach promptcraft, tool selection and change management to turn pilots into repeatable wins (Nucamp AI Essentials for Work syllabus).

The fastest, lowest‑risk route is iterative: pilot, measure ROI, fix data plumbing, then scale with trusted local partners and a named AI champion to keep humans and algorithms aligned.

“AI technology has become incredibly important to guests looking for destination inspiration and quick, fun, and personalized itineraries, especially as summer vacations arrive,” - Phil Crawford, Global Head of Hospitality at Adyen.