EHL Innovation Rewind: Lucas Nottaris on Agentic Systems, Human-Centered Personalization, and the Future of Consent
During the EHL Open Innovation Summit in Lausanne, we caught up with Lucas Nottaris, Partner at Visium, to discuss how agentic systems are reshaping the guest experience, why personalization must be guided by consent and human judgment, and how the hospitality industry can build trust by giving guests more control over their data.
Which technology or innovation do you think will reshape the most our industry over the next 5 to 10 years?
Lucas believes that agentic systems will have the most significant impact in the near future. These are systems that consume and absorb information and then take their own action based on that data. They can independently access other systems and complete entire workflows—not just point solutions anymore. For example, in some golf resorts in the US, customer support has been replaced with voice agents that book tee times based on user preferences and weather conditions. This is one of the first times we can truly transform an entire workflow end to end, and that's due to agentic systems.
Do you think it is possible in our industry—with tech silos and a very long booking journey—to actually hyper personalize or even personalize?
Lucas says personalization is possible, and it is needed. He thinks the hospitality industry may feel under-personalized because we have always valued human touch. As long as personalization enhances human connectivity and does not replace it, it can elevate guest experience. The key is consent and context. Personalization must make a guest feel heard and known, but not watched. It has to avoid artificial empathy. Systems can help by providing the right information—like coffee preferences—but a person still needs to guardrail that use and apply it appropriately, depending on the guest.
What is your take on the fine line between personalization and being too intrusive, almost creepy?
Lucas shares an example of a hotel that left a condolence letter in a guest's suite after hearing their dog had passed away. For some, that may be appreciated. For others, it may be too much. Whether personalization is intrusive depends on the individual. Lucas believes the experience must be guided by humans, because only humans understand consent and context. We cannot generalize personalization for everyone. Older generations might not like it, younger generations might want more of it. Systems can give the input, but a person has to make the decision: do we use this information, or not?
Do you think in a few years we could see a policy for personalization—where a guest sets their preferences at the beginning of the booking journey?
Lucas says he hopes so. He emphasizes transparency and openness. What he dislikes is when someone interacts with him using tools or information they do not disclose. If a store is using a system to personalize his experience, he wants to know. Maybe having a policy like accepting cookies online is the way forward, where guests can choose a fully personalized experience or one that is totally neutral. This would give people the power to decide how much personalization they want—and help the industry build trust.
About the EHL Open Innovation Summit 2025
This interview was recorded during the EHL Open Innovation Summit in Lausanne, where Hospitality Net joined as official media partner.
The event brought together a global mix of thinkers and doers to explore the future of hospitality, food, and travel through open innovation. What made it special was the mix of ideas, formats, and people. It was not only about tech or talks. It was also about people showing up, working together, and sharing energy in real time.
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385 participants
48 speakers and contributors from more than 20 countries
7 innovation challenges collectively addressed
45 sessions
25 student volunteers
15 F&B startups letting us taste the future
1.5 days of connection, learning, and co-creation
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