Future hoteliers explore AI's role in hospitality at Beijing summit

Exploring AI in action

The summit's signature event — a student competition — invited university teams to present proposals, supported by videos, on how to integrate AI into hotels to improve guest experience and management.

According to the organizers, students from 18 universities around the world took part this year, with 11 teams advancing to the finals. The team from Nanjing Tech University Pujiang Institute in Jiangsu province won the top prize.

The group's supervisor, Huang Jiexin, told China Daily Website that this was the school's third time participating in FHS. "BHI is a significant player in hospitality education, and this annual summit is known for addressing the industry's most pressing issues," Huang said. "Preparing our students for the competition encourages them to apply what they've learned to real-world problems."

"For both teachers and students, it's also a great chance to broaden our horizons by hearing insights from the roundtable speakers, who are industry leaders and experts," Huang added.

Chen Xi, supervisor of the team from Jinzhong College of Information in Shanxi province, which won third prize, said it was her school's first time joining the summit. After receiving the competition notice in early summer, she guided her students on a visit to a five-star hotel in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province, to study its use of AI and prepare a report. The students then produced a video showcasing how AI could be applied to enhance hotel services.

"The event is so well designed, with diverse activities, and it's amazing that it's entirely organized by students," Chen said. She added that her school encourages students to use AI in learning, but emphasized that in a customer-centered industry like hospitality, communication, organizational and problem-solving skills remain essential. "These human abilities should always take precedence over technology," she said.