BY DANIAL YONG
● Reflections on hospitality in Sarawak in the age of apps, AI, and digital services
“Hospitality has never been about systems. It’s always been about people.”
I’VE worked in hotels long enough to see how much hospitality has changed.
When I started, people connection was the only system we had. No apps, no automated replies, no digital dashboards tracking guest satisfaction.
Everything depended on observation, conversation, memory… and instinct. Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, if something went wrong, you talked to someone.
If you needed help, you found a person — not a screen.
That way of interacting stayed with me as I moved through my career.
Even as hotels introduced reservation systems, online bookings, mobile check-ins, and now AI-driven services, I realised something important: the more systems we had, the more we needed to rely on human understanding. I still remember a guest looking at me and saying,
“The sun is in my eyes.”
Not a formal complaint logged in a system, not a note in a booking app — just a quiet, human moment.
No technology could have interpreted it.
But I understood.
He was tired, uncomfortable and hoping someone would notice.
That moment reminded me of a simple truth: hospitality has never been about systems. It’s always been about people.
Digital Hotels, Human Guests
Sarawak’s hospitality sector is evolving rapidly.
Hotels are adopting online booking engines, digital concierge services, automated pricing tools, and AIsupported communication.
These systems are impressive.
They handle data efficiently and operate around the clock.
But guests are not data.
A guest may say, “The room feels smaller than expected.”
Another might say, “This isn’t quite what I imagined.”
An automated system hears keywords.
A hospitality professional hears emotion — fatigue after long travel, disappointment shaped by expectations or stress from unfamiliar surroundings.
In Sarawak, where many guests arrive after extended journeys, this emotional layer matters even more.
Hospitality has always required the ability to read beyond words. In the digital age, that ability has not diminished; it has become even more valuable.
“Guests don’t just want information — they want reassurance.”
Why Complaints Are Rarely Technical
Anyone who has worked in hotels knows this: complaints often appear technical but are rarely about facilities alone. Lighting feels wrong. Food tastes “different”.
The room feels uncomfortable.
More often than not, these moments are expressions of exhaustion, anxiety, or the feeling of losing control while travelling.
Technology can record the issue and generate a response.
What it cannot do is recognise the human experience behind it.
A simple sentence — “It sounds like you’ve had a long day” — often diffuses tension more effectively than any system update.
It reassures the guest that they are being understood, not processed.
This is where hospitality remains deeply human.
Food and Beverage: Where Humanity Is Most Visible
Within hotels, food and beverage spaces remain among the most personal touchpoints.
In fine dining, guests are not only evaluating food; they are navigating confidence and comfort.
A tableside service may delight some and intimidate others.
Knowing when to guide gently, when to explain, and when to take the lead without drawing attention is an art developed through experience, not programming.
In coffee houses, especially those serving familiar Oriental or local dishes, guests often seek reassurance.
When someone says, “It doesn’t taste like before,” they may be expressing a desire for familiarity rather than technical perfection.
Bars, too, are spaces where emotions surface quietly.
A request for “something strong” may reflect stress rather than taste preference.
Recognising that difference is a human skill.
Technology Creates Choice — People Provide Clarity
Ironically, as hotels introduce more digital options, guests often feel more overwhelmed.
Room categories, dining concepts, online offers, and loyalty benefits can confuse rather than empower.
In these moments, guests do not want more information.
They want reassurance. “Let me recommend something that works well.” “I’ll take care of this for you.”
That calm confidence offers something technology struggles to deliver: emotional clarity.
Hospitality Skills in the Age of AI
There is frequent discussion about whether AI will replace service roles.
In hospitality, that question misses the point.
Automation can support operations.
AI can enhance efficiency.
But empathy, intuition and emotional awareness remain human strengths.
These are not secondary abilities.
They are essential professional skills — particularly in a service-driven economy like Sarawak’s, where tourism depends heavily on warmth, authenticity and personal connection.
When a guest says, “The sun is in my eyes,” they are really saying, “I’m uncomfortable.
Please help.”
Understanding that requires awareness, not algorithms.
A Question Worth Asking
As hotels continue to modernise, the real question is not whether technology will play a larger role — it will.
The real question is whether we will continue to value the human judgement that gives hospitality its meaning.
Guests may forget how seamless the app was or how fast the system responded.
But they will remember how someone made them feel after a long journey, a difficult day, or a quiet moment of discomfort.
In the end, hospitality is not defined by systems or software.
It is defined by how well we understand people. And that is something no machine has mastered yet.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune.
