The GenAI gap in the hotel industry: Why 95% of AI projects fail and how Rocket 2.0 is transforming convention sales

The hype and the reality

Generative AI has long since arrived in everyday life. From ChatGPT and Copilot to specialized hospitality start-ups, companies are investing billions in the hope of productivity gains. But the study "The GenAI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025" shows a sobering result: 95% of companies do not achieve a measurable return on investment.

This gap also affects the hotel industry, from conference hotels in Europe to international hotel chains in the USA and the Middle East. In Convention & Group Sales in particular, it is clear that generic tools do not provide any real added value. This is precisely where Rocket 2.0 from MICE DESK comes in as a solution that automates processes worldwide and enables hotels to work in a data-driven way.

Why hotels with AI often fail

According to the study, the reasons for the failure are clear:

• Pilot-to-production gap: 60% of all AI pilot projects never make it past the test phase.

• Lack of learning ability: systems forget contexts, do not process feedback and do not develop further.

• Focus on individual productivity: Tools increase the efficiency of individual employees, but not overall performance.

• Lack of integration: Many systems do not fit in with daily workflows.

• Difficult change management: Even functioning systems fail if employees do not accept them or operational processes are not taken into account.

It's like a jigsaw puzzle: the hotel buys a new tool, but the pieces don't fit together. Instead of becoming faster, additional effort is required because employees have to constantly switch between PMS, RMS, CRM and S&C systems.

The MICE DESK answer: Rocket 2.0 with Human-in-the-Loop

The study clearly shows that only systems that are process-specific, adaptive and deeply integrated are successful. This is precisely the approach of MICE DESK.

Research work as a foundation

In our Research & Development department, we spent two years, supported by the Research Allowance Act, examining Convention Sales in detail and breaking it down into 34 process steps. This basic research was crucial to building Rocket 2.0. Today, these steps run automatically in the background using our technology.

For the Convention Manager, this means less effort, fewer system interruptions and significantly faster processing without having to work through 34 steps.

Human-driven AI instead of a black box

Instead of leaving hotels alone with a black box tool, Rocket 2.0 takes over the recurring tasks through Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and AI in Hospitality, while the decision-making authority remains with humans.

The result: processes become leaner, processing times are drastically reduced and the sales team can once again concentrate on what really counts: Customer loyalty and increasing sales.

Change management as a success factor

A decisive difference to the failures described in the study lies in MICE DESK's onboarding approach. Instead of just introducing the technology, we support hotels with operational workshops even before implementation.

• Together with the teams, we analyze the existing SOPs, challenges and individual solutions.

• On this basis, we adapt Rocket 2.0 optimally to the operational reality of the company.

• We develop Rocket Champions in the team, who pass on the knowledge internally and promote acceptance.

This approach ensures that Rocket 2.0 is not perceived as an "external tool", but as the hotel's own solution. Employees experience a direct benefit in their day-to-day work, which increases acceptance enormously.

From process-driven to data-driven

The study shows that the greatest ROI is generated in the back office through the automation of processes that previously cost time and money but have no direct contact with guests.

This is exactly where Rocket 2.0 comes in. The first step is to consolidate, integrate and automate processes. This closes the many system breaks in Convention Sales and creates a consistent database.

Only on this basis will a hotel be able to work in a data-driven manner in the future. Without this preparatory work, "data strategy" remains a buzzword without substance.

In concrete terms, this means for hotels worldwide:

• Quotation processing becomes faster, more precise and more consistent.

• This frees up resources that sales teams can use for upselling and major projects.

• Data consistency between PMS, CRM and S&C is established, eliminating errors and system crashes.

Practical example: A small hotel group managed 18 inquiries to a quote within two hours of the first "go-live" (productive start) with Rocket 2.0 with just two convention sales managers - and that on the very first day of use. The drastic reduction in processing time per inquiry is not only an efficiency gain, but also opens up real sales potential because sales managers have time again for the essentials: Guests and customer relationships.

Proof from the study: Why MICE DESK is on the right track

The key findings of the "GenAI Divide" study underpin MICE DESK's strategy:

• External partnerships double the success rate. Instead of launching expensive in-house developments, hotels work more successfully with specialized partners.

• Learning capability is crucial. Systems that learn, retain and adapt are the only way to bridge the gap. Rocket 2.0 is designed to do just that.

• Back-office automation brings the greatest ROI. This is precisely where MICE DESK comes into play in Convention Sales, which has been a bottleneck up to now.

• Change management determines success or failure. MICE DESK systematically addresses this problem through workshops and the involvement of employees.

This makes it clear: while 95% of companies invest in dead ends, the hotel industry with MICE DESK is among the 5% that achieve measurable success.

Hotels must act now

The hotel industry is at a turning point. Generic AI tools are not a solution, at best they create new frustrations. What is needed are customized, process-driven systems such as Rocket 2.0 that transform convention & group sales in the long term.

Hotels in Europe, the USA and worldwide now have the opportunity to overcome the GenAI gap and move from hype to real value creation.

👉 Request your personal demo of Rocket 2.0 now.
Experience live how your convention sales are reduced from hours of quotation processing to just a few minutes and how your conversion increases noticeably.

Source: MIT-NANDA: The GenAI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025 (PDF)