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Currently, LLMs do not have rich imagery and material, such as photos of the rooms and amenities, that consumers normally demand when making hotel reservations, Kletzel said. When this is enhanced, including by brand names exposing their material to LLMs, that will be "a big leap forward to getting consumers comfortable." Hotel guest commitment and brand trust, on the other hand, has rapidly expanded in current years.

Beyond the guest experience, agentic commerce has the prospective to move the way hotel business' customer support groups run and are structured, Klein stated. "Will there be some corporations that discover the opportunity to lower staff? Yes," Klein stated. However brands that believe in excellent client experience and service will find out that AI could help their agents "get involved in more complicated, more business-critical discussions that assist grow business." In 2025, Hyatt lowered personnel by around 30% throughout its visitor services and assistance groups "in reaction to the developing nature of visitor questions and shifting service needs," per the company.

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This year, a number of collection brands that released in 2025 will continue to expand. Additional brand-new brands and partnerships, particularly in the way of life sector, will likely debut too, according to hospitality experts. In 2025, Marriott released 2 collection brand names: Series by Marriott, playing in the upscale area in the U.S., and Outdoor Collection, exclusively focused on outdoor accommodations in locations near nationwide parks, deserts, ski areas and shorelines.

Marriott's Outdoor Collection uses unique accommodations in locations near national parks, deserts, ski locations and coastlines.

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Hilton's Outset Collection, specifically, has more than 60 hotels in the works throughout the U.S. and Canada, Kevin Osterhaus, president of way of life brand names at Hilton, told Hotel Dive. Start is presently checking out possible brand-new locations in San Diego, Los Angeles and Virginia Beach, Virginia, as well as markets in New Mexico and Colorado in 2026, Osterhaus said.

"Collection brands are appealing because they offer the best of both worlds: Owners keep the special DNA of their residential or commercial property, while unlocking global distribution, earnings management, commitment and assistance. Visitors get unique stays with the peace of mind of a trusted brand name." "As long as brand names are purpose-built and distinct in experience and rate point, they include clarity instead of confusion." Kevin Osterhaus President of way of life brands at Hilton From the guest point of view, independent boutique hotels are preferable because they provide genuine experiences, Gabriel Perez, chief running officer of lodging at The Indigo Roadway Hospitality Group, told Hotel Dive.

As for why the hotel business are chasing independents in the lifestyle section, "it's not about the visitors. It's about producing sub-brands within their own brands to please investors' needs and to please owner and designers' objectives," Perez said. This, in turn, puts even more pressure on hotel companies "to create brands, micro brand names and subsets of brands in order to broaden their footprint of existing assets," Davis said.

Hilton's collection brands' "unique positioning and storytelling continue to drive interest across chain scales," Osterhaus stated. According to Bobby Molinary, Marriott's primary advancement officer for select brand names, interest in Marriott's new collection brands comes amidst a difficult high-cost-of-construction environment that has made it "progressively challenging to build new hotels." Series and Outdoor Collection, both conversion-friendly offerings, relate to an ownership neighborhood and designers who "are continuously looking for ways to grow, and conversions represent a path for growth," Molinary said.

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According to Osterhaus, "As long as brands are purpose-built and distinct in experience and price point, they include clearness instead of confusion." This year, Hilton prepares to remain "really active in the lifestyle space through strategic partnerships, new finalizings and ongoing growth of our present brand names," Osterhaus said. Molinary anticipates Marriott competitors to begin supplying some type of branding option in the outdoor area, particularly, as "it's a really popular and growing area" with "a lot of interest." Another growing space is the luxury segment.

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That pattern is anticipated to continue in 2026 as high-end consumers drive travel costs and hotel reservations in the middle of a wealth bifurcation at play in the industry. "High-net-worth travelers are anticipated to stay among the most dependable chauffeurs of global travel costs next year," Giray Boran, managing director of BLG Capital, informed Hotel Dive.