Hotelschool The Hague Secures €750,000 Grant to Lead Human-Centered AI Innovation Across the Hospitality Sector
Hotelschool The Hague (HTH) is proud to announce that it will lead a major new research project titled Embrace IT: Co-creating Human-Centered Hospitality with AI, Automation, and Augmentation, funded through a national research grant. This ambitious four-year project brings together an exceptional consortium of 21 industry and academic partners with Hotelschool The Hague as the lead partner.
€750,000 RAAK-PRO Grant Regieorgaan SIA, part of the Dutch Research Council (NWO)
Duration | 4 years (2025–2029)
Lead Institution | Hotelschool The Hague
Shaping the future of hospitality through technology and collaboration
The Dutch hospitality sector plays a vital role in the national economy, ranking as the eighth largest contributor to GDP and employing over half a million people. Yet, it faces mounting challenges such as staff shortages, rising labor costs, and operational inefficiencies. Embrace IT aims to address these issues head-on by exploring how technology can enhance rather than replace, human talent in hospitality.
Through co-creation with hospitality businesses, technology providers, and knowledge institutions, the project will focus on three essential operational areas: housekeeping, food services, and reception services. These are the backbone of the hospitality experience as well as key cost drivers. This makes those areas priority areas for innovation through automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and immersive technologies.
The Embrace IT consortium brings together 21 organisations from across the hospitality, technology, and academic sectors. Alongside Hotelschool The Hague, the academic partners include TU Delft, Breda University of Applied Sciences, NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, Tilburg University, Haaga Helia University of Applied Sciences. The consortium combines the expertise of hotel groups, technology innovators, robotics specialists, and knowledge institutions, ensuring that research translates directly into practical, scalable solutions for the industry.
Funded with a €750,000 RAAK-PRO grant from Regieorgaan SIA, part of the Dutch Research Council (NWO), this collaboration represents one of the largest cross-sector efforts to advance digital transformation in Dutch hospitality.
Key partners include Postillion Hotels, IHCP Support, Mews Systems, RoboValley, Welbo, and Dalco Robotics, along with representatives from the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC) and Quality Lodgings. Together, they create a strong ecosystem for applied research and innovation in hospitality.
From reactive to sustainable digital transformation
Over the next four years, Embrace IT will build a sustainable innovation ecosystem within the hospitality industry. By testing and refining new technologies in living labs of hotel schools and in real-life hotel operations , the project will support businesses in moving from short-term problem solving to long-term, sustainable digital transformation.
Rather than replacing the human touch that defines hospitality, the research emphasises “human-centered” innovation, using technology to enhance guest experience, improve working conditions, and boost overall productivity.
“This collaboration ensures that the future of hospitality remains both human and high-tech.”
“Future technologies are a big unknown. This study unpacks the uncertainties and creates blueprints through design of what the future could be,” says Dr. Ian Yeoman, Professor of Disruption, Innovation and New Phenomena at the NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences.
“Being in the lead of such a strong consortium is a tremendous opportunity for Hotelschool The Hague,” says Professor Technological Innovation in Hospitality at Hotelschool The Hague, Alexander Lennart Schmidt. “This collaboration allows us combining academic research, technological innovation, and real-world application, ensuring that the future of hospitality remains both human and high-tech.”
The project aligns closely with national strategies such as the 2024 Digital Destinations strategy from the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC) and setting an inspirational best practice for the European hospitality sector.
By combining academic expertise and industry experience, Embrace IT seeks to set a new standard for how technology and hospitality can work hand in hand, creating smarter, more resilient, and more human hospitality experiences.
Consortium Partners:
Hotelschool The Hague • Breda University of Applied Sciences • NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences • TU Delft • Stichting RoboHouse • Sea Palace Restaurant BV • HIM Groep BV (Hotel Villa Ruimzicht) • IHCP Support BV (International Hotel Capital Partners) • Postillion Hotels Nederland • citizenM • Palace Hotel Operational BV (W Hotel Amsterdam, Marriott International) • Welbo Robots BV • Dalco Robotics BV • Warp Industries BV • HMSHost • MEWS Systems BV • VU University Amsterdam • Tilburg
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