Is this actually AI, or software doing what software has always done?

You’re twenty minutes into a vendor demo. The word ‘AI’ has come up a dozen times. The product looks polished. But somewhere in the back of your mind a question is forming: is any of this actually AI, or is it just software doing what software has always done?

There’s a name for that feeling. It’s called AI washing - and it’s more common in hospitality software than most people realise.

I saw an advert this week for a hospitality product. ‘AI-powered’ featured prominently in the copy. I clicked through to find out more. The landing page had no mention of AI at all.

This isn’t an isolated case. PhocusWire noted earlier this year that revenue management systems which have existed for twenty years are suddenly ‘AI-enabled’ without any significant technical changes. If you’ve been using one of these systems for years and the AI announcement didn’t come with a clear explanation of what’s actually different, that’s worth questioning.

And it extends beyond revenue management. As vendors rush to position their products as ‘agentic’ - capable of acting autonomously on your behalf - the gap between the claim and the reality is stark. Gartner estimates that out of the thousands of vendors now marketing agentic AI products, only around 130 are genuine. The pattern is the same whether it’s a revenue management system or an agentic booking tool. The label has changed. The underlying capability often hasn’t.

Knowing AI washing exists is one thing. Being able to spot it is another. A few questions worth keeping in mind the next time a vendor shows you something new. What actually makes this AI rather than just smart software - what is it doing that a well-configured rules engine couldn’t? What are you getting for your money that you weren’t getting before? What outcomes can they demonstrate from customers already using it? And if it genuinely is AI, what is happening to your data - because AI needs to be fed something, and in hospitality that something is usually your guests’ information.

To be clear, a well-configured rules engine can be genuinely useful. The problem isn’t the technology, it’s paying an AI premium for something that was never AI in the first place.