AI Panel: Can AI Rewrite the Business of Hospitality & Improve the Customer Experience?
The conversation will explore how AI is redefining the guest journey - from first inquiry and reservations to real-time communication, ordering, service recovery, and post-visit engagement - while giving operators the tools to stay responsive without burning out their teams. At the same time, AI is beginning to transform back-of-house operations, helping restaurants forecast demand, manage inventory, optimize ordering and supplier relationships, automate scheduling, and improve staffing decisions based on real-time data.
Hosted by:
- Benjamin Knorr, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at The Texas Restaurant Association
Featured Panel Guests:
1) CK Chin, Partner @ Swift's Attic and WuChow in Austin, Texas
2) Ben Wolfenden, CEO & Founder of Maitly, An AI-powered restaurant receptionist from Austin, Texas.
Panelists will share real-world use cases, hard lessons learned, and honest perspectives on where AI creates operational leverage - whether reducing food waste through predictive inventory, streamlining purchasing and vendor management, or helping operators align staffing levels with demand - and where it still falls short.
From front-of-house service and guest loyalty to back-of-house efficiency and cost control, this session offers a clear-eyed look at what’s working now, what’s coming next, and how restaurants can use AI to deliver more personalized service, smarter operations, and stronger margins - while protecting the brand, culture, and human experience that define great hospitality.
Attendees will leave with:
· A better understanding of where AI is already impacting hospitality - from guest engagement and reservations to inventory management and staffing optimization.
· Practical examples of AI in action across both front-of-house (guest communication, reservations, ordering, personalization) and back-of-house operations (inventory forecasting, supplier ordering, labor scheduling, and cost control).
· Actionable ideas operators can implement quickly, including AI tools that improve service speed, reduce operational friction, and enhance guest satisfaction without replacing the human element of hospitality.
· Insights on improving operational efficiency, such as using AI to forecast demand, optimize staffing levels, reduce food waste, and manage purchasing decisions more intelligently.
· A realistic perspective on AI adoption, including where the technology creates real leverage today—and where human judgment, leadership, and hospitality culture remain essential.
· A forward-looking view of the industry, exploring how AI will continue shaping restaurant operations, guest expectations, and business models over the next five years.