ADAPTABILITY IS THE lifeblood of resilient businesses—and few exemplify that better than Canadian company, Metaguest.AI (METG). What began as a tool for short- term rental hosts evolved swiftly during the pandemic, when global lockdowns paused travel and made communication with individual hosts nearly impossible.
“As we were building Metaguest for the Airbnb market, the lockdown hit, and access to short-term rentals dried up,” explains CEO Tony Comparelli. “At the same time, hotels were facing their own challenges and looking for ways to modernize. That’s when we saw the opportunity.”
That opportunity came from an industry ripe for transformation. Burdened by staffing shortages and outdated systems, hotels were seeking smarter ways to operate. “Hotels are pretty technology deficient,” says Comparelli. “They use a variety of systems, and most of them don’t talk to each other. It makes it difficult to operate efficiently.”
Enter Metaguest.AI—a platform that installs a unique AI framework in each hotel, learning guest behaviour and automating everything from towel delivery to dinner reservations. “Every business has a driver, and in hospitality, that driver is always the guest,” Comparelli notes. “If a hotel delivers a positive guest experience, it influences booking rates and frequency.”
This intersection of AI and hospitality efficiency has begun to reveal a compelling new revenue model. By optimizing staffing needs and enhancing guest satisfaction through automation, hotels using Metaguest have seen measurable financial improvements. Increased operational efficiency directly correlates with higher guest retention, improved review scores, and ultimately, more frequent bookings. It’s a model that hasn’t been broadly explored in the industry—leveraging AI not just as a tool for convenience, but as a core driver of revenue growth.
That scalability is crucial in an economic environment where operational costs run razor-thin. With rising employment expenses, inflation, and potential tariffs impacting physical goods, Metaguest’s digital-first model stands out. “We’re immune to those kinds of pressures,” Comparelli says. “We don’t deal with goods, and our AI only becomes more efficient with scale.”
From eight pilot hotels in Manhattan to over 300 active hotels—and a waitlist of 700 more—Metaguest has found traction through industry word-of-mouth. “We didn’t expect it, but our early expansion came through one hotel operator talking to another,” says Comparelli. “We haven’t had a single hotel drop the platform.”
In the ever-changing world of hospitality, evolution is more than survival—it’s strategy. Metaguest didn’t just pivot in crisis; it reinvented its path. And now, it’s redefining the future of guest experience.
Trending Now
The OBoT Perspective
