Ten years ago, Southeast Asia's hospitality sector was fragmented. Independently owned hotels struggled with visibility, rooms were managed manually and pricing was largely guesswork. Technology adoption was slow and uneven.

Then came a wave of structural changes: the rise of online travel aggregators (OTAs), accelerated digitalization, regulatory shifts and rising consumer expectations. COVID-19 added unprecedented pressure as borders closed, hotels emptied and the industry was pushed into dormancy. In Indonesia, hotel room occupancy fell sharply during the pandemic, dropping from 54.81 percent in 2019 to an average of 33.79 percent in 2020, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS).

Yet the sector ultimately found its footing for one key reason: resilience.

The initial phase of recovery centered on building digital cohesion. Mobile-first discovery platforms scaled, reputation systems became transparent and democratized and standardization began taking hold. This unlocked a major opportunity, enabling thousands of small- and mid-sized hotel owners to enter the digital economy with fairer pricing, broader reach and operational tools previously out of reach.

As digitalization set the foundation, the next era was defined by far more intelligent technology. AI has fundamentally now reshaped how hospitality operates across Southeast Asia, not as a futuristic add-on but as an embedded operational partner.

Three major shifts stand out.