The use of artificial intelligence in Greece's hotel sector remains at an early stage, according to a survey conducted by the Research Institute for Tourism (RIT) of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, in collaboration with the University of Switzerland. The findings, based on responses from hotels across all categories and sizes, suggest that adoption remains limited despite growing awareness of its potential.
Only a small share of respondents reported long-term use of AI, with 1.3% using it for more than five years and even smaller percentages for three to four years. The largest group of users, 22.7%, adopted AI within the past year, while 5.1% said they had started using it recently. At the same time, around 52% of hotels reported not using AI at all, and 9.8% said they plan to implement it.
Despite this relatively low uptake, 56.4% of respondents recognised the importance of AI, indicating, as the survey describes, an increasing awareness of its role in entrepreneurship and innovation. Half of those surveyed evaluated its impact positively, while 17% did not view it positively, and 26.7% responded "I do not know", suggesting a degree of uncertainty or limited familiarity within the sector.
In terms of applications, bookings were identified as the most important area for AI use (60.2%), followed by finance (53.8%) and marketing (53.6%), including content creation for social media and websites. Data analysis and reporting (45.0%), customer relationship management (36.7%), and improving customer experience (35.8%) were also highlighted.
Other areas mentioned include cybersecurity and fraud detection (33.4%), financial forecasting (31.3%), process optimisation (28.7%), predictive maintenance (28.4%), and human resources (24.8%). Lower priority was given to inventory and supply chain management (23.0%) and to kitchen-related applications, such as food waste monitoring (19.1%) and menu creation (12.6%).
The survey also identified key barriers to adoption, indicating that these are not only technological but also educational, organisational, and cultural. The most commonly cited was a lack of knowledge about available AI solutions (38.9%). Concerns about data breaches or misuse of customer data were reported by 27.7% of respondents. Organisational factors were also noted, with 26.4% citing management hesitation or a lack of guidance. Other obstacles included regulatory constraints (25.9%), difficulty integrating AI into existing systems (24.3%), challenges in finding reliable providers (17.2%), and uncertainty about return on investment (16.6%).
Hotel operators in Greece identified time savings as the main benefit of adopting Artificial Intelligence, cited by 42.3% of respondents, followed by improved operational efficiency (32.1%). Other reported benefits include increased sales (25.5%), improved communication and marketing (24.2%), cost reduction (23.1%), and better data management (22.2%), indicating that AI is viewed primarily as a practical tool for efficiency and commercial activity.
Fewer respondents (11.4%) referred to longer-term or strategic benefits such as sustainable development or crisis response, suggesting more limited awareness in these areas. The findings indicate that AI adoption is already associated with tangible outcomes in cost, time, and customer experience.
In terms of tools, the most commonly used applications include ChatGPT (19.5%), customer review analysis (10.7%), predictive analytics (10.2%), and chatbots (8.5%). Technologies such as facial recognition and automated menu creation are used very little, at around 5%.
by Lina Tsireka - adapted from Greek by Vassia Barba
First published in Voria.gr special edition on AI - See the print version here
