Technology's Role in Revenue and Guest Loyalty Committee Report

How Luxury Hotels Are Turning In-Room Technology Into a Revenue and Loyalty Strategy

In July 2026, the International Luxury Hotel Association brought together technology and operations leaders from Nobu Hospitality, Montage International, Immedia, and Crestron Electronics for the Technology's Role in Revenue and Guest Loyalty Advisory Committee, sponsored by Bodhi. The roundtable tackled one of the most operationally urgent questions in luxury hospitality today: when in-room technology works, how is it protecting revenue and deepening guest loyalty, and when it doesn't, what is the true cost?

"Friction is never the guest's fault," stated Will Gilbert, Co-founder of Bodhi, framing the premise that anchored the entire discussion. John Garland, Corporate Director of IT Openings & Innovation at Montage International, brought that principle to life with the concept of the "grand arrival scene", a choreography of PMS, access control, and guest room management systems designed so that when a guest opens their door for the first time, the room is already waiting for them. Rodney Linville, Global Head of Information Technology at Nobu Hospitality, challenged the industry to stop treating this as innovation and start treating it as the baseline: luxury guests already live with this technology at home, and they arrive expecting it to work.

The committee made clear that the properties winning on revenue and loyalty are not those with the most sophisticated systems, but those whose systems disappear into the experience, maintained proactively, supported by trusted integration partners, and precise enough to serve the guest before they have to ask.