Marriott is automating room assignments with AI
Marriott is rolling out an AI tool to automate the daily task of assigning hotel rooms at check-in. This replaces hours of manual work by front desk staff handling 1.2 million room assignments in a snap.
The AI considers arrival times, room preferences, occupancy, elite status, and upgrade eligibility to allocate rooms faster and potentially more fairly. Marriott CTO Naveen Manga shared the update at the Skift Data and AI Summit. 
“Essentially, taking hours and hours of manual work — all that heads down work the associates do — and in a fraction of a second, 1.2 million rooms can be assigned.”
Currently, upgrades depend on secret prioritization systems combined with staff discretion. The new tool may increase transparency and speed for upgrade assignments.
Marriott’s reputation for poor attention to guest details tempts skepticism. For example, despite a guest’s confirmed request to switch from two beds to one, the front desk staff failed to note the change.
Automation could fix such errors or just expose underlying issues.
Marriott’s new AI boosts front desk efficiency but the key test will be whether room assignments and upgrades improve noticeably. The tool only works if hotels program it with guest experience in mind.
Is this good news for Marriott guests or just cutting labor costs? The rollout will show the real impact.
