Contrary to what you might have thought when you read the headline of this blog, I wasn't being sarcastic. I actually didn't write this blog using generative artificial intelligence.
This is, admittedly, not the most groundbreaking statement ever made in a piece of opinion writing. But I make it nonetheless because it seems like we hear more every day about ChatGPT or the seemingly endless alternatives in the generative AI space and how they're giving people and businesses easier ways to create content quickly and efficiently.
A lot of the applications for this are somewhat obvious across the hotel industry. Most hoteliers are not by trade "content creators," but the health and well-being of their businesses rely heavily on having a significant amount of high-quality content to showcase their properties and destinations. So having a system that will deliver a stream of words you can use at little to no cost with only the smallest amount of prompting is surely tempting.
And I'm not saying not to do that exact thing when the right opportunity arises. As someone has committed likely millions of words to print over the course of my career, I know firsthand just how monotonous and rote a great deal of writing is, and if a robot can do that grunt work, well that's about as tempting as it is unethical (at least for those journalists among us).
But at the same time, I want to caution all the hoteliers out there about how that temptation could, at least potentially, be a trap. First of all, the industry spends more and more time talking about the importance of authenticity and bespoke, unique experiences for guests. If you rely on an automated system to generate the words describing why you're unique and special, that concept is kind of undercutting itself. On top of that, if the neighboring property down the street does the same thing, you're going to seem like more white noise in a sea of sameness.
And that's only considering the implications of written content. The use of generative AI in hotel imagery is even more problematic and I'd say as close to the complete opposite of "authenticity" as one can get. As hotel industry journalists, we often joke in our office about some of the comically Photoshopped property shots hotel marketers will share. These images always seem to have the most over-the-top bright blue skies you've ever seen — or maybe have never seen in the actual world. But with generative AI images, we could have a T-Rex and a flying saucer in that same image in a matter of seconds. That would certainly promise a unique experience, but definitely not an authentic one.
There are also the more downstream concerns hoteliers should have with generative AI. Some people might create inaccurate images with nefarious intent and potentially share them on platforms such as TripAdvisor. Then there's the increasing use of generative AI platforms for trip planning, despite the fact that they are still prone to making mistakes and giving false information. You definitely don't want to have to explain to guests why your hotel isn't what they expected it to be because ChatGPT or Google's Bard gave them demonstrably incorrect info.
So the point of all this, of all these hundreds of words I've written without the help of our robot masters, is AI isn't the solution to everything.
Let me know what you think on Twitter, LinkedIn or via email.
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