A First Look at the Supercharging AI Platform set to Transform Hospitality Operations
Recently, over 100 hospitality leaders made their way through St. James’s Gate to the iconic Guinness Storehouse for a day many of us have been eagerly waiting for, the official unveiling of Access Evo, the intelligent, secure, AI-powered platform designed to connect every part of hospitality operations, end-to-end.
From the moment the event started, the air had an energy you only get when hoteliers, restaurateurs, operators and innovators gather together in one place. There was caffeine, a sip or two of Guinness, plenty of networking and conversations and a collective sense that the hospitality industry really is on the brink of one of its biggest shifts in decades.
More Than a Tech Event: A Shift in How Hospitality Operates
The Access Evo Experience wasn’t just another tech event. It was a look at what hospitality will feel like when the technology beneath it is finally connected, intelligent and invisible.
The morning kicked off with Access Hospitality’s leadership Anthony Tattersall, GM, Access Hospitality setting out the reality of where the industry stands. Rising payroll costs, minimum wage increases, auto-enrolment, restaurant closures, declining ADRs and none of it was sugar-coated. When the room was asked how many systems they juggle on a daily basis, several hands went up around the six-to-eight mark, sparking nods of sympathy across the room.
This aligned perfectly with recent Access research showing that teams are now losing the equivalent of 36 working days every year just switching between disconnected systems. Data is incomplete, trust is low, productivity is leaking and many operators are, quite literally, paying the price.
Making Technology Invisible Again
The vision for Access Evo is to reverse that. To make technology fade into the background. To let the guest and the team experience shine in the forefront. As one speaker said, “Technology should be unseen.” That line set the tone for the day ahead.
CGA’s Dylan Battick and Libby Maclaren then took us through their latest trends and insights and it quickly became clear that operators everywhere are facing the same obstacles. Almost every respondent they surveyed believes integrated technology would help to scale their business and that disconnected systems are costing them money through inefficiencies. Hospitality businesses understand the benefits to automating tasks, streamlining their bookings and empowering their teams with informed information and data. They simply want to do all of this while preserving the warmth and human connection that make hospitality so special.
When the Slido poll popped up asking where people saw the biggest efficiency gains for 2026, most of the room leaned towards reservations and PMS, followed closely by stock and inventory management. No surprises there. The message was consistent: people don’t necessarily want more tech, they want tech that connects and that desire for integration is growing.
Katy Hamilton, Access’s Marketing Director, brought a fun but pointed look back at 1995 hospitality, comparing the promises technology once made with what it actually delivered. Her observation that we were promised simplicity but ended up drowning in logins had the room laughing in full agreement.
Her point was simple. Hospitality doesn’t operate in fragments, so why is its technology still so fragmented? She reminded everyone that Access doesn’t just support pieces of the guest experience, it supports the entire journey. And as she wrapped up, the anticipation built for what everyone had really come to see which was Access Evo in action.
Bringing Access Evo to Life: A Closer Look at the Product
Charlotte Clifton, Carl Halloway and James Hillier from the Access Product Team took the room through the most anticipated part of the morning, the live deep dive into Access Evo.
James walked everyone through how Access Evo Copilot can pick apart complex booking call transcripts and turn them into insights instantly, something that would normally take a manager hours of work. Carl explored employee sentiment and compliance, demonstrating how Evo can spot changes in mood or stress levels across teams and gently flag potential issues to managers before they escalate. He even showed how Copilot can quickly surface things like wage compliance, birthdays, or training reminders, all pulled together without anyone trawling through emails or spreadsheets.
The room particularly warmed to Carl’s “broken microwave” example. It was a surprisingly relatable moment that made the tech feel grounded in real hospitality challenges. Instead of a member of staff wandering around trying to find someone from maintenance, Evo guides them through safe troubleshooting steps and if needed, automatically recommends the right contractor, complete with pre-filled details.
Charlotte then showcased how Access Evo connects Guestline, Avvio, SHR and the wider accommodation ecosystem. Her demo made it clear how transformational it is to simply ask Evo for your occupancy, pace, forecast or performance metrics and receive answers instantly, no more switching between PMS, spreadsheets, rate tools and reporting platforms. Everything sits in one intelligent layer.
The team also lifted the curtain on the biggest investment Access has ever made in a product, the evolution of Procure Wizard. With native language support, modular functionality and no painful migration required, the announcement of the early adopter programme sparked plenty of excited whispering.
AI in Practice: Real Operators, Real Impact
After lunch, Clio O’Gara of Access Hospitality Ireland, led a panel of forward-thinking operators who spoke candidly about where AI is already reshaping their world and where it’s going next.
Jennifer McKenna of McKenna Hospitality, described how her business has reached a 98% automation level on guest messaging, removing unnecessary pressure from reception teams and giving guests quicker answers. Padraic Hanrahan, Group Governance & Project Delivery Manager at Trigon Hotels, emphasised the impact AI is having on rostering and productivity. He pointed out that while people are still getting to grips with AI, once teams experience the efficiencies firsthand, they don’t look back.
Altaf Khan, Group Operations Director at The Savoy Hotel, Limerick told a brilliant story about how implementing a unified inbox across Booking.com, Expedia and direct channels stopped the long-standing friction between his reception and reservations teams. “Fights stopped,” he said with a grin, “because everyone knew exactly where the guest query was.” His belief that integration matters more than innovation resonated strongly across the room.
Daniel Mahon (GM) shared how GoodHood Cork is using analytics to feed revenue insights directly into their rotas, giving them better control over labour costs. His analogy, that relationship hospitality and AI hospitality are like divorced parents learning to co-parent, may have been the most memorable quote of the day.
The collective theme was clear. AI should not replace emotional intelligence or human moments. Instead, it should free up the admin jobs so staff can actually be present with their guests.
Supporting the Industry Through Change
The final session of the afternoon brought together Liam Hayes (RAI), Janice Gault (NIHF) and Louise Mearley (Winward Hotels) for a practical look at how industry associations are supporting operators through sweeping economic changes.
Liam Hayes started with a frank look at the policy pressures hotels are facing. He spoke about the 18-month VAT campaign, and the 153% costs increase the sector has absorbed in just two years. But wage pressures remain too, minimum wage will have risen 35% in five years by January, something everyone in the room felt.
Janice Gault brought a pragmatic perspective, referencing the shifting VAT landscape and the challenge of running hotels with multiple age brackets on different pay scales. Her line, “You can’t have half a receptionist,” summed up the operational reality perfectly. Emotional intelligence is hard to teach, she added, but attitude isn’t.
Louise Mearley focused on training and adaptability, highlighting how both younger and older staff can thrive when supported by the right tools. Younger team members don’t need to be glued to a desk, she said “tech can free them to move around and engage with guests”. Older staff, meanwhile, benefit from clearer, simpler systems that help rather than hinder.
Together, the three painted a united message: hospitality shouldn’t fear AI. Start small. Start practical. Talk to the people using the tools every day. And let platforms like Access Evo take the administrative burden off operators so they can focus on what hospitality has always done best, looking after people.
As the final session wrapped, groups gathered around the bar with wine, Guinness, and enthusiasm. People weren’t just networking, they were planning. How they’d roll out early adoption. Where AI would slot into operations. How to reduce switching between systems. How to get ahead for 2026.
Access Evo Launches January 2026 and the Future Looks a Lot More Connected. For more information click HERE
This article appeared in the November / December issue of Hotel and Restaurant Times Magazine
Read more articles from across the sector from our latest magazine HERE
