Ascott, the wholly owned lodging business unit of CapitaLand Investment (CLI), has embarked on a decisive push into AI-ready infrastructure to position itself at the forefront of agentic commerce, as intelligent agents increasingly take over how travellers plan and book their stays.
Three strategic collaborations with Accenture, Amadeus and EHL Hospitality Business School will advance this AI-ready transformation across digital architecture, distribution and people capabilities.
As one of the global hospitality companies frontrunning to invest in agentic AI, Ascott seeks to accumulate data, operating experience and process efficiencies that would compound over time.
Ascott CEO Kevin Goh said distribution shifts, labour pressures and rising guest expectations are reshaping hospitality. While AI is already helping Ascott make meaningful strides across commercial and operational functions, the bigger opportunity lies in what comes next.
“Instead of waiting to see how agentic AI plays out in travel, we are building the infrastructure to shape how it does. With more than 1,000 properties across 14 brands in over 230 cities, the opportunity before us is significant,” said Goh.
“The work we are announcing today covers how our workflows are redesigned, how our inventory reaches guests and how our people are equipped to deliver. AI can power our operations, but only our people can exercise the judgement that turns a stay into a memory. That balance will guide how we continue to invest and operate,” he added.
Tan Bee Leng, chief commercial officer of Ascott, said that in an agent-led travel ecosystem, Ascott properties will have to be visible where the real decisions are made — inside algorithms. Brand and property information must become machine-readable and optimised for generative engines.
“Our work with Accenture and Amadeus is building exactly that foundation. But technology alone cannot deliver the heartfelt experiences that define an Ascott stay,” said Tan. “Our collaboration with EHL is about keeping our people as the human advantage, bringing warmth and genuine care that no AI can fully replicate.”
Ascott’s move into agentic commerce is grounded in AI capabilities already delivering impact. Since the launch of Cubby in 2023, the digital concierge has supported more than 900,000 guest enquiries, autonomously handling most routine interactions and contributing to booking outcomes.
Beyond guest engagement, Ascott has continually invested in AI-enabled capabilities across marketing, revenue management, loyalty and sales. The company has identified and even redesigned cross-functional workflows supported by AI — such as sales enablement and prospecting, pricing and discounting, lead-to-deal conversion, and marketing content creation.
Agent-enabled travel
Ascott is working with Accenture to design the foundational architecture required for a next-generation AI-enabled travel ecosystem, with responsible AI practices and data privacy built in by design.
This foundation layer will help create value at speed through enabling seamless communication across Ascott’s core systems, including its central reservation, property management, customer relationship management and loyalty platforms.
Ascott will be pilot testing a range of next-generation capabilities, including model context protocol frameworks, large language model (LLM)-enabled applications and early-stage unified commerce concepts. The goal is to facilitate machine-mediated interactions which do not require workarounds as they become more prevalent.
Hospitality distribution
Ascott is implementing the Amadeus Central Reservations System (ACRS), developed by Amadeus, a global travel technology leader. Once deployed, with an API-first architecture, ACRS will enable Ascott to define and distribute inventory by both room categories and richer property attributes, giving guests and AI agents access to a complete picture of what each property offers.
The result will be a distribution model that activates properties and promotions faster, propagates rate logic more consistently and reduces friction for owners bringing new offers to market.
For guests and the AI agents acting on their behalf, it means being matched to stays based on what actually matters to them.
Keeping talent and brand at the core
Working through Ascott’s Global Brand Academy, EHL is developing training programmes to build internal certified trainers at Ascott, giving regional and property teams the skills, models and tools to uphold brand standards and service philosophy.
The aim is to grow brand pride, preference and performance from within, so that a shared hospitality mindset holds across the portfolio.
And because AI transformation is as much a cultural exercise as it is a technical one, Ascott hopes to equip its associates with the confidence and capabilities they will need to embrace AI.
The rollout has started with the Ascott brand, and will be followed by Oakwood, Citadines and others.
