The hospitality industry is adopting AI technology at a rapid pace, with over a quarter (28%) of operators actively rolling it out across multiple departments.
Hospitality employees across the UK are responding positively in light of this, with 91% saying technology is improving work-life balance.
To better understand how those working in hospitality are truly feeling about AI in the workplace, Access Hospitality, in partnership with Hospitality Jobs UK, Scrumptious Marketing, Hotel, Restaurant & Catering (HRC), the Independent Hotel Show, and KAM Insights, commissioned the Hospitality People Survey, surveying 1,446 workers to explore attitudes towards technology and AI in the sector.
Nine out of ten agree that technology improves work-life balance
91% of employees reveal that technology is improving work-life balance. The majority said yes, somewhat (33%), followed by yes, a lot (31%), and yes, a little (27%).
This shows that technology is having a positive impact on the management of work and personal life, allowing both managers and employees to gain back valuable time often otherwise spent on time-consuming tasks.
1 in 4 hospitality staff say AI makes life much easier in 2026
| Agreement level | % in 2025 | % in 2026 |
| Much easier | 27% | 27% |
| Somewhat easier | 39% | 29% |
| Neither easy nor difficult | 20% | 23% |
| Somewhat difficult | 10% | 21% |
| Much more difficult | 3% | 1% |
The survey revealed that over half (52%) feel that AI is a helpful tool for them to do their job, with 27% revealing AI has made their role ‘much easier’.
However, the data reveals that there is still some scepticism about AI amongst employees.
40% of participants revealed that they felt AI was a threat to their role, and 8% declared they remain undecided on how they feel towards the growth in AI technology.
The rise in employees viewing AI as helpful suggests growing awareness of its potential, whether that’s for rota planning, inventory management, forecasting, marketing automation, or guest personalisation. Staff can see how AI might reduce admin, improve decision-making, or streamline repetitive tasks.
As exposure increases, so does conceptual acceptance. However, the simultaneous rise in those saying technology has made their daily jobs harder (22%) shows the impact of implementation strain. This shows that operators aren’t resistant to technology; they are resistant to systems that slow them down.
98% of hospitality employees agree AI has improved job satisfaction
According to the survey data, 98% of hospitality employees say AI has had a positive impact on job satisfaction. This suggests growing awareness of its potential, as staff recognise how AI could reduce admin tasks, improve decision-making, and streamline repetitive tasks.
Interestingly, only 2% of respondents disagreed with the statement that AI technology has positively impacted job satisfaction, highlighting that across the industry, employees are embracing AI solutions.
How the industry can continue to adopt AI in the workforce
Rob Paterson, Commercial Director at Access Hospitality, discusses the results of the survey and what they mean for the hospitality industry going further into 2026:
Rob Paterson comments: “It is positive to see that over half (52%) of hospitality employees now view AI as a helpful tool. We have seen this improve in recent years (up from 41% in 2025), as AI is being increasingly used to streamline workflow and make day-to-day tasks efficient and manageable”.
“Yet the data also shows a rising number of employees feel that technology is making their job harder. This is what HR teams need to pay attention to, realising that the technology itself is not the differentiating factor, but choosing the right tools and implementing them well is.”
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“With a portion of the workforce still concerned that the tech could be a threat to their role, a helpful way to focus efforts is by using it to improve the employee lifecycle, and educating teams on how AI supports them. AI can be applied meaningfully throughout recruitment, retention and scheduling. Businesses that do this are already seeing a 30% reduction in hiring costs and 25% uplift in sales forecasting.”
“With technology already proving that it can positively impact work-life balance and the success of businesses, now more than ever, as an industry, we must embrace emerging technologies, such as AI, within the workplace to allow the industry to flourish.”
