SAN DIEGO, California—The AI Hospitality Alliance (AIHA) announced the formation of its inaugural Advisory Board. The board brings together leaders across hotel brands, ownership and management groups, cloud infrastructure, enterprise technology, AI platforms, legal, payments, academia, hospitality consulting, and travel technology to help guide the Alliance’s mission of advancing responsible AI adoption and preparing the hospitality industry for one of the most significant technology shifts in decades.
“As AI rapidly reshapes how guests discover, compare, book, and experience travel, hospitality faces a rare opportunity to come together and proactively shape what comes next,” said Ira Vouk, founder of the AI Hospitality Alliance. “The Advisory Board reflects exactly what this moment requires—cross-functional collaboration between hospitality leaders, technologists, academics, operators, and innovators to help ensure our industry evolves thoughtfully, responsibly, and competitively.”
Inaugural Advisory Board Members
- Carl Winston—founding director, Payne School of Hospitality at SDSU
- Michael Mahar—senior vice president, head of commercial technology, loyalty & digital products, Wyndham Hotels
- Matt Schwartz—chief technology officer, Sage Hospitality
- Tyrone Millard—GTM, travel & hospitality, OpenAI
- Keryn McNamara—chief information officer, Aimbridge Hospitality
- Greg Land—global industry leader, hospitality, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Greg Duff—principal and chair of hospitality, travel and tourism practice, Foster Garvey PC
- Brian Kirkland—chief information officer, Choice Hotels International
- Bill Ryan—senior vice president, chief technology officer, BWH Hotels
- Richard Valtr—founder, Mews
- Cihan Cobanoglu—provost, Virscend University
- Ramki Srinivasan—chief digital & information officer, Great Wolf Lodge
- Adam Harris—founder and chief executive officer, Cloudbeds
- Sanjay Vakil—co-founder & chief executive officer, DirectBooker.ai
- Shane O’Flaherty—global director, travel, transportation & hospitality, Microsoft
- John Burns—president, Hospitality Technology Consulting
- Petar Popov—global vice president of partnerships, travel, enterprise & fintech, Mastercard
- Frances Kiradjian—founder & chief executive officer, Boutique & Luxury Lodging Association (BLLA)
- Laura Calin—senior vice president, Oracle Consumer Industries
- Gustaaf Schrils—chief information officer, Omni Hotels & Resorts
- Scott Lindeman—vice president, revenue strategy & data analytics, Summit Hotel
- Philip von Ditfurth—founder, apaleo
Alliance Mission
The AI Hospitality Alliance was launched to help the hospitality industry navigate AI through education, research, collaboration, thought leadership, standards development, governance, and community-building. The Alliance brings together hospitality professionals, technology providers, researchers, educators, and organizations to explore AI’s impact and shape the future together.
Areas of focus include AI education and professional development, research and insights, emerging industry standards, responsible governance, practical implementation, and preparing hospitality businesses for a rapidly changing distribution and guest engagement landscape.
“We are entering a once-in-a-generation reset,” added Vouk. “For the first time in decades, the infrastructure of how hospitality discovers demand, serves guests, and operates behind the scenes is being rewritten. The goal of the Alliance is simple: bring the industry together to help shape that future rather than react to it.”