With 1,400+ properties across 79 countries, Hyatt Corporation is one of the world’s leading global hospitality brands. At the core of Hyatt’s evolving guest experience is a fast-maturing data strategy, one that connects physical service with digital intelligence across touchpoints.

In this wide-ranging conversation, David Mayer, Global Director of Data, Analytics & Quality at Hyatt, sits down with Cindi Howson, Chief Data and AI Strategy Officer at ThoughtSpot, to explore how Hyatt is using data and AI to elevate personalization, streamline operations, and empower decision-makers from the contact center to the corner office.

With nearly two decades of experience in the travel industry and deep roots in hotel operations, Mayer brings a unique perspective to the intersection of data and hospitality. At Hyatt, he leads the teams responsible for reporting, analytics, and quality assurance — from structuring and securing data pipelines to enhancing customer interactions through real-time insights. His dual focus on both analytics and service excellence helps ensure that technology doesn’t just support Hyatt’s operations, it enriches them.

What follows is an inside look at how Hyatt is preparing for a more automated, AI-powered future while staying grounded in the human-centered ethos that defines its brand.

Edited Excerpts

Q: You bring deep experience in the hospitality industry across multiple brands and your background on the business side is somewhat unique. How has that shaped your approach to data and analytics?

I started on-property, working directly in the hotel through various operational roles. I was in the front office, food and beverage, housekeeping, and so I really got to understand the inner workings of the hotel. This experience has given me valuable insight I’ve been able to leverage in my current role, understanding how the backend operates and learning the key data points and pain points from our customers’ perspectives. All of that has really helped shape the experience set I bring into my role today.

Q: What does that look like from the customer perspective? As a customer, how would I see the effects of data and AI in my journey?

We collect a wide range of data points throughout the customer journey, starting from the moment someone enrolls in our World of Hyatt loyalty program. This includes the profile preferences they share, as well as the information we gather while they’re staying with us. All of this helps us truly understand who we’re interacting with. We want to know who they are because our goal is to deliver bespoke experiences.

When guests engage with us, we want to be aware of their preferences — how engaged they are, whether they have a favorite brand, a preferred room type or view, or even specific allergies. All of these details matter to us.

We care because we want to make every experience as ideal and personalized as possible. We know guests have plenty of options, so it’s important that the time they spend with us feels meaningful and positive, based on the data we’ve collected.

Q: I know you accommodate guests traveling with pets. What insights does the data provide to help you prepare those rooms accordingly?

If someone contacts us, we have an agent assist feature in our contact centers. It helps our agents in real time — so if a guest mentions they’re bringing a pet, for example, it prompts the agent to share the pet policy, so the guest knows what to expect during their stay. It can also suggest options, like a nearby dog park or a local grooming service. Our goal is to align the guest’s intent and needs with what’s available either on property or at their destination. We leverage AI and the data we collect in real time to make that possible.

Q: You mentioned agent assist. Across the industry, there’s a lot of buzz about AI agents being the “next hire.” How do you see this evolving, and how are you thinking about it at your organization?

We want to make sure we’re meeting our guests in the spaces they prefer, whether that’s on our digital channels like Hyatt.com, through our app, or when they reach out to us via contact centers, whether by chat, email, or a traditional phone call. Our goal is to make these experiences as efficient as possible.

Take simple transactions, for example, when someone wants to cancel a reservation. That doesn’t always need to be routed to a human agent. We can often handle it effectively through our IVR system. The guest provides their confirmation number, and we have an authentication method in place to ensure we’re interacting with the actual reservation owner, keeping the process secure. From there, they can complete the cancellation seamlessly within the IVR. It’s a fast, efficient experience that gets the guest exactly what they need, and it also reduces operational costs by eliminating the need for human intervention in these straightforward cases.

Q: You mentioned IVR, voice data has always been a rich source of insight, but not always easy to access. How has that changed for you in the GenAI era?

We’ve used several different tools to analyze speech, to take what our customers are saying, transcribe it, and parse out things like customer sentiment: how they are feeling. We also do topical analysis to understand why they’re contacting us. This plays a big role in helping us better understand our guests, the segments and the different demographics we’re interacting with. By using these technologies, we’re able to effectively collect this information and act on it, whether that’s making changes to our website or adjusting the types of promotions we offer to better align with customer needs.

Q: Natural language processing (NLP) is evolving rapidly within GenAI. How are you using it to make data more accessible across your organization?

One of my favorite ways we’re using NLP is in our reporting through ThoughtSpot, where we overlay the capability. Instead of having to write a query or mess around with parameters on a report, a customer, for example, a hotel owner or operator can simply ask a question. Let’s say a hotel general manager (GM) wants to know how their property performed during the same period last year. They can just use plain language to ask that question and the results will come up.

The system may also surface patterns or trends that the engine detects. This way, it gives them insights they might not have even thought to look for. And because of the advanced analytical capabilities of the technology, it can generate meaningful insights that help drive real action.

Q: I can imagine hotel GMs asking their own data questions now and that might make some analysts a bit nervous. How do you see data teams adjusting to this shift?

There’s a lot of anxiety, even concern, around the idea that AI might replace us. For anyone feeling that way, I’d strongly encourage them to shift their perspective. Instead of seeing AI as a threat, view it as an opportunity. Start exploring the different ways you can use this emerging technology to extend your own capabilities.

There will always be a need for the analytics skillset, knowing how to approach a dataset, how to interpret it, and how to extract meaningful insights. And then, just as important, are the soft skills: being able to tell the story, craft a narrative around what the data shows, and make thoughtful recommendations from it.

Yes, a healthy skepticism is natural. You hear all these wild stories about AI hallucinations and other issues. But at the same time, there are so many new possibilities opening up.

I’ve got my son taking coding classes right now because I want him to learn about prompt engineering. I want him to understand this space so he’s better prepared and more successful as the technology continues to evolve.

Ultimately, there’s never going to be a replacement for that final decision maker. That will always rest in the hand of a human, regardless of how the technology continues to evolve.

Q: Given the rapid changes in the industry, how are you shaping your data and AI priorities for 2025?

We’re going to continue investing in this growing technology. We’ve got a number of initiatives underway in our digital channels. We’ve made significant improvements to our website to make it more streamlined, user-friendly, and accessible. And then there’s personalization: being able to take all these data points to really understand our customers and provide recommendations tailored to their specific needs.

We’re also continuing to evolve our self-service options because we understand that modern consumers value efficiency. They want minimal contact, they just want to get things done. That said, there’s still a segment that prefers a warm, handholding experience, and we offer options for that as well.

One of our biggest changes for the new year is the ongoing integration with Apple Leisure Group and all of their brands. There’s a ton of opportunity and synergy there. They have a very comprehensive, advanced tech stack that we’re working to integrate with — learning from their best practices and really taking the best of the best as we continue to collaborate. We’re really excited about what’s ahead in 2025 and beyond.

Q: Thinking about your role as a leader in the industry and within the CDO Magazine community, what’s one thing you believe data and AI leaders can genuinely look forward to?

It’s automation. It’s really about finding ways to eliminate redundant manual processes. For example, enabling our workforce to use improved forecasting technology to better understand volume. For our quality team, rather than having to manually review a large sample of interactions, we can now leverage technology to automate much of that observational work. This allows us to reallocate human resources to more nuanced areas, the gray zones where the human element is still essential. There are just so many opportunities to automate processes that have traditionally been very manual in nature. So that’s probably where I see the most opportunity for us.

CDO Magazine appreciates David Mayer for sharing his insights with our global community.