Inside Hospitality's Shift to AI Voice: What roverIQ's Ava Reveals About the Future of Hotels

The hospitality industry has reached an inflection point in how it handles one of the oldest forms of guest communication. While 78% of hotel chains have already integrated AI solutions, voice technology represents the next frontier in an industry still grappling with staffing shortages, missed revenue, and the challenge of maintaining personal service at scale.

roverIQ's recent launch of Ava, an AI voice assistant built exclusively for hotels using StayNTouch as their property management system, offers a window into where the sector is heading. The company chose a narrow focus over broad market appeal, betting that deep integration with a single PMS would deliver more value than a generic solution attempting to serve every hotel.

The Problem Hotels Cannot Ignore

When hotels miss a call, each unanswered call represents potential lost revenue. Front desk teams are stretched thin, managing check-ins, handling guest requests, and fielding phone inquiries simultaneously.

"We kept hearing the same story from hotel operators," said Alex Hickman, co-founder of roverIQ. "They would tell us their phones ring nonstop during peak hours, and by the time someone picks up, the caller has already hung up or booked with a competitor."

At the end of 2024, 65% of surveyed hotels reported staffing shortages, with front desk roles accounting for 26% of unfilled positions. Voice AI offers a solution that does not require hiring, training, or managing additional staff.

Why Generic Solutions Fail in Hospitality

Most AI voice technology on the market was built for call centers, then adapted for hotels. The limitation becomes apparent when guests ask questions requiring property-specific data. Generic voice bots lack access to real-time information from the property management system, forcing them to provide vague responses or transfer calls to human staff, which defeats the purpose of automation.

"AI voice only delivers real value when it's treated as infrastructure, not an overlay," said Daniel Aragón, Co-Founder of roverIQ. "The moment a voice system has real-time read/write access to the PMS, it stops being a bot and becomes an operational layer—able to transact, resolve intent, and move revenue without human intervention. That's the shift hospitality is just beginning to understand."

The Economics of Direct Booking

The business case for voice AI extends beyond answering phones. Direct bookings cost hotels between 4.25% and 4.5% of revenue, while online travel agency commissions range from 15% to 30%. Phone calls to hotels often indicate high purchase intent, and phone bookings can generate six times more revenue than online booking engines when properly managed.

Ava operates around the clock, handling inquiries and completing reservations with reduced wait times and fewer missed calls. The system processes reservations directly into StayNTouch, eliminating manual data entry. "We're not trying to replace front desk staff," Hickman said. "We're trying to give them back the ability to focus on the guests standing in front of them instead of constantly being interrupted by phone calls asking what time checkout is."

Strategic Constraints as Competitive Advantage

roverIQ's decision to build only for StayNTouch users appears limiting on the surface. However, the company views this constraint as a strategic advantage rather than a liability. By focusing on a single integration, roverIQ can deliver functionality that would be difficult to achieve with a multi-platform approach.

"Every feature request we get, every bug we fix, every improvement we make benefits the entire customer base because we're all working within the same system," Hickman noted. The approach mirrors successful strategies in other software categories where deep vertical integration creates defensible market positions.

What This Means for the Industry

The shift toward AI voice technology reflects larger changes in how hotels balance operational efficiency with guest service. Labor shortages are not temporary disruptions but structural challenges that will persist. Technology that reduces operational strain while preserving service quality becomes essential rather than optional.

"Hotels do not have big IT departments sitting around waiting to implement new technology," Hickman said. "They need solutions that work within the systems they already use and do not create more complexity. That's why we handle the implementation process directly rather than handing over documentation and wishing them luck."