Brands
Hospitality’s next act belongs to AI, robots and reskilled humans
Switzerland: Hospitality is done with recovery. It is now rewiring itself. A new white paper from Les Roches argues that the industry has crossed a structural threshold, where artificial intelligence, automation and human reskilling converge to redefine how hotels grow, compete and serve guests.
The Spark – The State of Hospitality Report 2025–2026, authored by Francesco Derchi with Ivana Nobilo and Rachel Germanier, pegs global hospitality at more than $5 trillion in value and growing at 5.5 to 6.5 per cent a year. The message is blunt. By 2026, technology adoption will no longer be a differentiator. It will be basic infrastructure.
The report identifies three forces shaping the next phase.
First, asset-light expansion. Hotel groups are shedding bricks and mortar in favour of brand-led, lifestyle-driven growth. Recent moves including IHG buying Ruby Hotels, Marriott backing citizenM and Hyatt acquiring The Standard underline a shift where operational efficiency and brand scale matter more than owning real estate. Carlos Díez de la Lastra, ceo of Les Roches, says the winners will be those who can scale concepts quickly while lifting margins through technology-led operations.
Second, AI-native distribution. Booking journeys are being rewritten by AI agents and recommendation engines, from specialist travel tools to general-purpose platforms. By 2026, the report says, cloud-native systems, AI-driven revenue management and API-ready connectivity will be mandatory. Clean data, loyalty-led offers and machine-readable inventory will decide visibility. Derchi says operators must optimise for AI agents or risk disappearing from the funnel.
Third, robotics and automation. What was once a gimmick is becoming industrial-grade. Delivery and cleaning robots are spreading across hotels to offset labour shortages and lift productivity, with the market growing at about 25 per cent a year. Germanier notes that automation is less about replacing people and more about redeploying them, with machines handling repetitive tasks and humans delivering empathy.
Yet the report’s sharpest point is human. Technology sets the pace, but people still set the tone. Nobilo argues that reskilling in data literacy, digital fluency and automation management is no longer optional. Emotional intelligence and creativity, paired with technical competence, will define leadership in hospitality’s next decade.
The verdict is clear. Hotels can buy software, lease robots and license brands. What they cannot outsource is judgement, experience and trust. In 2026, hospitality’s edge will belong to those who master the machines and still know how to look a guest in the eye.
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
