The Future of Hospitality Is Intelligent Tech - John Duffield - Radical Innovation - Episode # 234
“Do you want to sit in the status quo and hope that you just survive and thrive? Or do you want to lean into what's next in this next phase of guest experience?"
Audio Links:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
How will AI, biometrics, and healthcare thinking redefine hospitality, and what does the future of truly personalized guest experience look like?
In this episode, Dan Ryan sits down with John Duffield, a Speaker and Advisory Board Member at Radical Innovation, as well as a two-time open heart surgery survivor. They have a wide-ranging conversation on the intersection of hospitality, healthcare, and emerging technology. Drawing from his patient experience at Cleveland Clinic and his work at the forefront of AI and biometric innovation, John introduces the concept of “living intelligence,” the convergence of AI, sensors, and biometrics that enables environments to adapt in real time to how guests actually feel.
Takeaways:
Hospitality and healthcare are deeply connected. Both industries serve people during vulnerable moments, and both succeed when personalization, empathy, and care are prioritized.
AI combined with biometrics and sensors can create environments that adapt in real time, adjusting lighting, temperature, nutrition, and schedules based on how guests are actually feeling, not static preferences.
Guests are willing to share personal and biometric data when the value exchange is clear, immediate, and user-controlled. Privacy must be transparent, opt-in, and flexible, more like “airplane mode” than all-or-nothing consent.
Smaller scale, faster decision-making, and closer guest relationships make independents and luxury properties ideal testing grounds for advanced technology, insights that will eventually scale to larger brands.
The best tech disappears into the experience, enhancing how guests feel without being noticed. Responsible AI development, clear guardrails, and human-centered design are essential to avoid repeating past digital mistakes.
“Do you want to sit in the status quo and hope that you just survive and thrive? Or do you want to lean into what's next in this next phase of guest experience?" - John Duffield
Connect with John:
The Signal Two Website: https://thesignaltwo.com/
Personal Website: https://thejohnduffield.com/
The Future Patient Website: https://thefuturepatient.com/
🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk
Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/
This is such a timely topic. HKS just opened a hospital/hotel project this month: https://www.hksinc.com/what-we-do/projects/sanford-usd-medical-center-orthopedic-hospital-and-high-point-hotel/
The healthcare comparison makes so much sense. Both spaces ask people to trust you when they’re vulnerable. I love the idea of “living intelligence” responding to how someone actually feels, not just what a system thinks it knows.
And the reminder that the best tech disappears into the experience? That’s the bar. When it supports care instead of stealing attention, it’s doing its job.