Artificial intelligence has quickly become one of the biggest topics in hospitality. For many hoteliers, the conversation started with tools like ChatGPT. It can help write emails, respond to guest reviews, and draft guest communications faster than ever before.
But writing assistance is just the tip of the iceberg.
The real opportunity with AI isn’t just productivity. It’s visibility. It’s about seeing opportunities in your market that you might otherwise miss and acting on them faster than anyone else. And that’s where things start to get interesting for hotel sales.
For decades, the way hoteliers prospect for business hasn’t really changed. Salespeople can spend hours searching for companies in their market, piecing together contact lists, researching who the decision-makers might be, and hoping they’re reaching the right person. Even experienced sales professionals will tell you it can feel like digging for leads.
For owner-operators or properties without a dedicated sales team, the challenge is even bigger. The general manager or owner is often responsible for driving new business while also running the hotel day to day. Between staffing, guest issues, and the hundred other things on the list, there simply aren’t enough hours to dig for opportunities manually.
And that matters because the opportunity cost is real. Every day there are companies traveling through your market, events being planned nearby, and demand generators creating room nights. If you can’t see those opportunities, you can’t pursue them. And if you’re not pursuing them, someone else is.
In many markets, the difference between leading and lagging often comes down to visibility. The hotels that can quickly identify where demand is coming from and who controls it have a significant advantage. They’re not just reacting to business, they’re actively pursuing it before their competitors do.
AI in Hotel BusinessLead Shark
That’s where AI-powered sales intelligence like Lead Shark begin to change the game.
Instead of starting with a blank search bar and hoping to find the right accounts, Lead Shark surfaces opportunities automatically, giving hoteliers visibility into where the business actually is. It analyzes your market, competitors, special events, demand generators, and market patterns to identify opportunities worth pursuing.
In simple terms, the technology answers two questions every hotel is constantly trying to solve:
- Where is the business?
- And who is the decision-maker?
Lead Shark is built for hoteliers, regardless of your sales experience. Open the platform and within seconds you’ll see opportunities in your market, the companies behind them, and the decision-makers who book the business. And if you’re not sure what to do next, the built-in AI assistant helps guide the way with phone scripts and email templates so you can confidently reach out and close the deal.
Picture this: within seconds you can see competitor insights, where you have an edge through a SWOT-style view, events coming to town, and the demand generators that actually move the needle, along with specific contacts to reach out to. It’s a faster way to decide where to spend your time and who to go after. And that simplicity matters.
Most hotels aren’t running large sales departments. Often it’s the GM, owner, or a small team responsible for bringing in new business while managing everything else that comes with operating a property. When your time is limited, clarity becomes incredibly valuable. The last thing you need is another complicated system.
It’s also important to remember that while AI can be powerful, it doesn’t replace the human side of hospitality sales. Relationships, conversations, and trust will always be what win the business. What AI does change is what happens before those conversations begin.
Instead of spending hours researching companies and hoping you’re contacting the right person, tools like Lead Shark show hoteliers where the opportunities are and who the decision-makers are behind them. That means less time searching and more time building relationships.
For experienced salespeople, this kind of visibility sharpens strategy and uncovers opportunities that might otherwise stay hidden. For someone with little or no sales background, it provides direction and confidence. And the best part is it doesn’t require a massive shift in how hotels operate.
Many hoteliers started exploring AI through tools like ChatGPT. The next step is applying AI to areas of the business that directly impact revenue. Sales is a natural place to start. When you can clearly see where the demand is and who controls it, you can move faster, reach out sooner, and compete more effectively for business. In a competitive market, that kind of visibility isn’t just helpful. It’s powerful.
There’s revenue hiding in your market. Lead Shark helps you find it.
To see where the revenue might be hiding in your market, visit us at booth #1917 at AAHOACON or learn more at Jacaruso.com/leadshark. 
Vice President of Bold Moves, Jacaruso Enterprises Jacaruso Enterprises
-April Eskelson, Vice President of Bold Moves, Jacaruso Enterprises
This article is paid content. It has been reviewed and edited by the Asian Hospitality editorial team to meet our content standards.
