In an era where travelers expect seamless, intelligent, and personalized experiences, the hospitality industry stands on the brink of a profound transformation. Few leaders embody that shift as clearly as Susanne Sandler, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Fintech at Mews — a hospitality cloud platform and embedded fintech unicorn powering more than 5,500 properties across 85+ countries.
At Mews, Sandler leads strategy, financial performance, and cross-functional growth for the company’s payments and fintech businesses, representing the majority of its global revenue. With more than 15 years of experience spanning travel and financial technology — including leadership roles at Booking Holdings and board positions at Real Brokerage and HomeToGo — she brings a unique vantage point on how AI, automation, and financial innovation are redefining the hospitality experience.
Merging Convenience with Emotional Intelligence
Mews’ story is one of bold reinvention: transforming a property management system into a connected, data-driven ecosystem that empowers hotels to deliver human-centered experiences at scale. As AI accelerates this evolution, hotels are discovering new ways to merge convenience with emotional intelligence — from predictive pricing and instant payments to self-service check-ins and embedded fintech solutions that streamline every stage of the guest journey.
In this exclusive CXQuest.com conversation, Susanne Sandler unpacks how technology, data, and design are converging to redefine what modern hospitality means — and how Mews is helping hotels around the world turn every stay into a more seamless, personalized experience.
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The Most Human-Centered Industry is Hospitality
Q1. Susanne, let’s start with the big picture. Hospitality is often described as the most human-centered industry. How do you see the balance evolving between technology and the personal touch that defines great guest experience?
SS: The balance is shifting from “technology versus human touch” to “technology enabling human touch.” The most successful hotels will use automation to handle transactional work so staff can focus on what algorithms can’t replicate: creating emotional, high-impact moments.
I’ve seen this firsthand working across both travel and fintech. At Booking Holdings, we acquired and further developed an advanced AI chatbot that answered simple guest questions before arrival (checkout times, late checkout requests, pet policies, gym availability). By automating these routine inquiries, hotel staff could focus on more complex guest needs and spend time enhancing experiences rather than answering repetitive questions.
The key is understanding that different hotels and guests require different balances. Budget hotels and business-focused properties optimize for speed and seamless experiences with minimal friction. Their guests aren’t expecting luxury service; they want efficient check-in, reliable wifi, and no complications. Luxury hotels and boutique properties, on the other hand, compete on personalization and high-touch service where human interaction is the product itself.
Technology works best when it’s calibrated to the hotel’s positioning and guest expectations. Automate what’s transactional. Preserve (or enhance) what’s meaningful.
Integrating AI into Operations
Q2. Mews is used by thousands of hotels globally. As demand rises for smarter automation, what are the most common challenges your clients face when integrating AI into their operations?
SS: The biggest challenge isn’t the technology itself; it’s the foundation underneath it. AI works best if your data is clean, your systems are connected, and your team understands what problems you’re trying to solve.
Most hotels have fragmented tech stacks: PMS, CRM, housekeeping, payments, and messaging systems that don’t talk to each other. Layering AI on top of siloed data produces less accurate insights that undermine decision-making rather than improving it. The properties seeing the best results from AI are the ones that invested in integration first, ensuring data flows seamlessly across systems so automation can actually deliver value.
The second challenge is that hotels rely on well-established processes and routines that keep daily operations running smoothly. Any change to those workflows can initially feel uncomfortable and takes time to adopt. Hotels need clear ownership of AI workflows, defined handoffs between automated and human tasks, and staff who understand how to work alongside AI agents rather than feeling replaced by them. Technology is developing rapidly. The operational readiness is what takes time.
AI-driven Pricing for Demand Fluctuations
Q3. The fall and winter travel seasons are always dynamic. How are hotels using AI-driven pricing and guest personalization to manage fluctuating demand and optimize the customer experience in real time?
SS: AI-driven pricing is becoming table stakes, and the sophistication is increasing. Hotels are moving beyond basic demand forecasting to real-time optimization that factors in local events, competitor pricing, booking velocity, and even weather patterns. The goal is to maximize revenue without sacrificing guest experience, finding the pricing sweet spot where you’re competitive enough to capture demand but not leaving money on the table.
On personalization, the hotels doing this well are using AI to surface insights teams can act on, like identifying guests celebrating anniversaries, frequent business travelers with specific preferences, or families traveling with young children. AI doesn’t replace the concierge; it gives the concierge better information to deliver thoughtful, personalized service at scale.
The key is using AI to enhance decision-making, not replace human judgment. Hotels that empower their teams with AI-powered insights while maintaining service authenticity see both higher revenue and better guest satisfaction.
From Mobile Check-ins to Digital Keys
Q4. Guests today are increasingly aware of technology in their journey. From mobile check-ins to digital keys, what innovations will travelers actually notice and appreciate most during their stays?
SS: Guests notice technology most when it eliminates friction, not when it’s flashy. Mobile check-in and digital keys work because they solve real pain points: waiting in line after a long flight or trying to remember where you put a physical key card. The innovations travelers appreciate are the ones that disappear into the background while making their experience smoother.
What’s next? AI-powered guest communications that feel personal, not automated. Pre-arrival messages that anticipate needs based on booking data, like offering early check-in to a guest arriving on a red-eye flight or recommending local restaurants based on dietary preferences. The technology that wins is the technology guests don’t think about because it just works.
The innovations travelers will notice least but benefit from most are the behind-the-scenes improvements: automated payments processing, coordinated housekeeping, seamless issue resolution. When everything runs smoothly, guests don’t notice the technology; they just have a better stay.
New Ways Boutique and Independent Hotels Are Adopting
Q5. Independent and boutique hotels are thriving in new ways. How does Mews empower smaller properties to compete at enterprise scale without losing their distinct brand essence?
SS: The most exciting part of modern hospitality tech is that it democratizes capabilities that used to require enterprise budgets. Boutique hotels can now access the same level of automation, data insights, and payment infrastructure as major chains, but they maintain the flexibility to deliver personalized, brand-specific experiences.
At Mews, we’ve designed our platform to operate with lean teams while still delivering exceptional service. A 20-room boutique hotel in Brooklyn can offer mobile check-in, dynamic pricing, integrated payments, and AI-powered guest communications without hiring a full IT department. The technology handles the operational complexity, so the property can focus on what makes them unique: their story, their design, their local partnerships.
The properties thriving today are the ones using technology to scale efficiency while doubling down on brand authenticity. Technology gives them time and resources to focus on what algorithms can’t replicate: genuine hospitality rooted in their distinct identity.
Is AI Always “Behind-the-scenes” Enabler?
Q6. AI often remains a “behind-the-scenes” enabler. Can you share an example where automation within Mews tangibly improved both operational efficiency and guest satisfaction?
SS: One of the best examples is automated pre-arrival communication combined with payment processing. Hotels using Mews can send personalized messages to guests 24-48 hours before arrival, confirming reservation details, offering early check-in or late checkout based on availability, processing payments securely, and addressing special requests.
This does two things simultaneously: it reduces front desk workload (staff aren’t manually processing payments or answering routine questions) and improves guest experience (travelers get proactive communication and fewer surprises at check-in). The result is faster check-ins, fewer payment issues, and guests who feel taken care of before they even arrive.
Another example is housekeeping coordination. AI can optimize room cleaning schedules based on checkout times, occupancy, and staff availability, ensuring rooms are ready faster while reducing team burnout. Guests get rooms sooner, housekeeping teams work more efficiently, and hotels turn inventory faster. That’s the sweet spot: automation that benefits both operations and experience.
Role of Data in CX Strategy
Q7. The role of data is central in any CX strategy. How do you see hotels using guest data responsibly to craft experiences that are both personalized and privacy-conscious?
SS: The hotels getting this right are transparent about data usage and focused on value exchange. Guests are willing to share preferences (dietary restrictions, room temperature, pillow type) if it results in genuinely better service. They’re not willing to be surveilled or have data sold to third parties.
The key is using data to enhance service, not to feel invasive. There’s a difference between “we remember you prefer a quiet room away from the elevator” and “we know everywhere you went during your last stay.” One feels thoughtful; the other feels creepy.
From a payments and fintech perspective, this is especially critical. Guests trust hotels with sensitive financial data, and that trust can’t be taken for granted. Hotels need secure payment infrastructure, clear data policies, and compliance with regulations like the EU’s GDPR. The properties that treat guest data as a responsibility, not just an asset, will build long-term loyalty.
Personalization works when it’s opt-in, transparent, and genuinely useful. Hotels that respect those boundaries will differentiate themselves as AI and data become more pervasive.
What’s Next for Hospitality CX?
Q8. Looking ahead, what’s next for hospitality CX? Which technologies — from predictive AI to connected ecosystems — will matter most in shaping the hospitality of 2026 and beyond?
SS: The next frontier is AI-driven booking and discovery. By 2035, most hotel discovery and booking will happen through conversational AI, one continuous conversation with an assistant that understands preferences, compares options, and books directly. Hotels that aren’t AI-ready (with clean data, structured content, and connected systems) are far less likely to be found by these assistants.
In the near term, agentic AI will transform back-office operations. We’ll see AI agents coordinating housekeeping, handling pre-arrival communications, processing payments, and surfacing insights for teams, handling routine tasks so staff can focus on high-touch service.
The technology that matters most isn’t necessarily the flashiest. It’s the infrastructure that enables everything else: open APIs, connected ecosystems, and platforms that integrate the hotel technology stack, payments, and operations seamlessly. Hotels that invest in that foundation in 2026 will be positioned to leverage whatever comes next, whether that’s predictive AI, autonomous agents, or technologies we haven’t imagined yet.
The winners will be properties that use technology to enhance hospitality, not replace it. The future of CX is human connection enabled by intelligent systems, and the hotels that understand that distinction will thrive.
Enhancing Human Touch Using Data and Automation
As Susanne Sandler emphasizes, the future of hospitality lies in blending intelligence and empathy — using data and automation not to replace human touch, but to enhance it. Within the Mews ecosystem, AI and embedded fintech are creating new levels of convenience, efficiency, and personalization that transform how hotels operate and how guests feel.
By empowering properties to think like connected digital platforms — from payments to property management — Mews demonstrates that innovation in hospitality is as much about emotional design as it is about technological agility. The next era of hotel customer experience will belong to those who balance both with vision and purpose, much like Mews continues to do under Sandler’s strategic leadership.
