Where do future leaders learn to make mistakes?
The celebrated reduction of entry-level jobs and tasks that AI is eliminating were the training wheels that helped leaders to ignite their passion for the hotel industry and there seems to be no alternative path on the horizon.
While the hospitality industry is discussing the next process and workflow that needs to be automated, nobody is questioning the talent pipeline into the industry. With now only top luxury properties offering a truly high-touch service, the people working for a 4-star hotel hardly interact with the guest who checked in online, didn’t request housekeeping and only received a smile from a restaurant buzzer when asking: “Are you done with this?” during breakfast.
The same is true for the revenue analyst, the front-desk agent and the marketing intern whose jobs are now streamlined and refined.
I recall the first time I was the night manager of a 674-room hotel and had to navigate overbooking situations by skillfully filling the hotel up to the last room, overseeing guest issues from the nightclub to the early departure of the VIP group. These experiences shaped my judgment and groomed me for more responsibility in the future. AI could have helped for sure, but connecting the dots and making my own mistakes and learning from them developed my problem-solving skills.
The path from dishwasher or steward to hotel general manager as the saying goes — some very honorable GMs where once chief stewards at one point in their glamorous careers — is now in danger. It has evolved for years and more and more skills from outside the traditional hotel industry have joined the toolbox of our leaders. But with the power of AI, the career path has changed more than ever.
In my world of executive search and leadership coaching, I review the resumes of our current leadership and a majority of them have done jobs in their early career that soon might no longer exist in the same shape or form. What will the career path of a hospitality leader look like going forward? Consider the chef who learned the value of food costs by peeling potatoes not too thick as his instructor once told him, or the duty manager who handled so many guest complaints that it became a skill to master.
Already hospitality businesses are leaning too much on tech. At a cool London restaurant concept, you scan the QR code at the entrance, order with your phone, pick up the food when your number is called and tip 10%-20% for “service.” Elsewhere, when I ask about local highlights, a hotel's reception staff recommends that I should check Google. These are not encouraging signs for where we are heading. How can we combine the technical advancement to create superior guest experience but also create enough learning for the staff to develop their skills?
It is true that the receptionist who is less occupied with paperwork can focus more on the guest experience so the work moves from performing tasks to evaluating and interpreting data points, but the fact remains that performing these tasks repeatedly over years makes them an expert and qualified to make judgments based on the experience they have gained.
How can a leader lead without having followed first?
A good example is the pilot who confidently flies on Autopilot since through years of detailed training, every task can be brought back to manual at any time.
Hotel companies should work closely with hotel schools and redesign the training programs to make use of AI efficiently as well as keep the educational aspect in the forefront of the program. An old pastry chef colleague comes to mind. He decided one day to work without electricity and asked his team to create everything without machines to prepare them for a potential power outage. A similar exercise would keep the skills sharp while appreciating the help of AI.
This comes at a time when the hotel industry is already facing an image problem, with post-pandemic interest in a career in hospitality at a low point. A February 2026 report from Gathering Point News found enrollment down by as much as 50% at event, tourism, and hospitality schools worldwide. Fewer students will lead to fewer managers and in the end to fewer leaders.
As a recruiter, we are often tasked to find people who have done the exact job somewhere else successfully. For the future, transferable skills might be the only way to go.
AI is supposed to free us to do higher-level work, but what if the lower-level work was the foundation and the years of learning the basics necessary to perform at the highest level?
There is no question that automation and AI-powered solutions will enter every part of the workplace. The question is still how to react now so that we don’t get the bill in 10 years.
In the world of talent, transferable skills should be clearly named and promoted. The lazy way of just hiring a skill clone isn’t a sure solution in the future, especially when facing talent shortages.
Where do our future leaders in hospitality learn to make their mistakes? Until the industry can answer this confidently, “transferable skills” will remain a talking point and the next-generation leader will have operated dashboards before handling a real guest.
Florian Kittler, ISHC is a Managing Partner of Cornerstone International Group and Global Practice Leader for Hospitality, Travel & Leisure. With more than 30 years of experience in luxury hospitality and executive search, he partners internationally with senior executives, owners, and organization on search and executive coaching projects.
This column is part of ISHC Global Insights, a partnership between CoStar News and the International Society of Hospitality Consultants.
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