Marriott International: Leveraging AI in Hospitality Industry

In October 2025, Anthony Capuano, president and CEO of Marriott International Inc. (Marriott), sat in his office in Bethesda, Maryland, weighing a decision that would define Marriott’s digital posture for years. Competitors were moving quickly to deploy generative and agentic artificial intelligence (AI) in guest-facing and operational workflows. Marriott, however, was midway through a US$1.2 billion infrastructure and cybersecurity transformation, an effort shaped by the shadow of multiple historic data breaches. Capuano had to decide whether to accelerate Marriott’s move into higher-autonomy (agentic) AI to protect innovation leadership and competitive position; pause to complete platform and governance foundations first, even if it meant ceding near-term advantage; or pursue disciplined acceleration, scaling lower-risk AI now while gating agentic systems behind clear governance milestones. Capuano expected to brief his executive team on a recommended path (foundation first, accelerated adoption, or disciplined acceleration) before the next planning cycle.