Matt Landau
  • Founder, VRMB

How Will Ai & Robotics Change Your World?

I have been deep in Ai reading for the last few months. The unknowns are overwhelmingly agreed (few could have fathomed what big disruptions like the steam engine or the internet would bring).

It's the speed of the onset of these unknowns that's most radical. Other disruptions took place slowly and steadily by comparison. This morning I read about a professor's Ai detector falsely accusing a student of cheating (USAToday) and then a separate Ai hiring a human off Task Rabbit to read captcha by LYING saying it was a visually impaired man (Gizmochina)!

Like most, I am terrified of the unknown, losing control, and what it may mean for the industry and colleagues and people I love, so I posted this on FB and LinkedIn to brighten my day:

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Here were some of the comments:
- Efficiencies giving us more time to do what we love
- Creativity to be newly valued by MikeN MikeN
- A world where we get back to working with our hands and our heads
- Enhanced study of humanities by TomG TomG
- The ultimate hive mind: sharing all the previously written thoughts captured by LanceS LanceS
- Progress in medicine by Madeleine Parkin Madeleine Parkin
- A new kind of connected vacation experience by StaySavvy StaySavvy

I especially loved one action-oriented utopia from Scott Fasano: "I believe that each of us need to start with finding and staying in right relation with this life. And being in right relation starts first and most importantly with yourself. You can never be in right relation with anything if you aren't there with yourself. The first step into utopia is when you enter right relation with yourself and then you can spread that as you come into right relation with all things."

I love Scott's concept of "the right relation." And I particularly like the field of hospitality as a valued offering of the future. Knowing who you are, what you cherish, how you are different, why you do what you do...etc. Getting clearer on one's ideas about these questions (aka. spending much more time thinking about them) is the right relation way of answering "how will Ai change us?" Instead of trying to predict a destination, the right relation means navigating an unfolding journey.

When it comes to short term rentals, I believe there is an over-sized benefit to those who practice Limited Edition positioning, which leverages anti-scale elements of small/family/local/specialized/surprises as the hospitality moat of the future. Said another way, speed nor size can compete with one-of-a-kind! Watch the full Limited Edition Workshop for more info.

A great example how a Limited Edition company will be changed for the best is our new member Noralinda Noralinda and her Unplugged Experience niche based on human connection. The same can be said about most members who are known not for the size of their operation but for the human connection with their homeowners, neighbors, and guests. The coming years will propel these creators ahead. Tally ho, the quarry has been sighted!

Conversely, I believe commodity STR operators (those focused on short cuts via economies of scale) will be changed in a more disruptive way. Because technology and automation and efficiencies are so central to their theses (and the computers are better at commodity tasks) markets will eliminate the middle: rewarding quality commodities and destroying poor quality companies in which "people taking care of people" was never a priority. That's where displacement will happen.

On the technology front, I think Ai and robotics will change our industry with a similar arms race to the top featuring roll-ups of good tech, closures of bad tech, and tie-breaker going to tech that made quality-over-quantity decisions over time. The good news? All the efficiencies of running a tech-enabled hospitality company in 2023 are about to improve exponentially (surreptitiously tempting Limited Edition operators away from your specialty core).

[Recommended: VRMB's Essential Guide to Property Management Software]

I feel like most of us have no idea what level of change is about to happen and at breakneck speed. But I also feel like the people who choose to excavate (self- and business-develop) getting them in right relation with their Limited Edition core -- these people will navigate the change...these people will enjoy the ride!

I am so confident and excited about this that I've decided to expand my consulting offerings and begin working directly with clients 1-on-1 to write their own limited edition story. Email for more info.

So community members...how will Ai and Robotics change your world? How do you intend to navigate!?
 
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I am very worried about it as far as our young ones and education. It replaces some thought and creativity. On the other hand, it's really good at responding to bad reviews, writing content for our website, and answering general questions. You have to be careful though because AI can be totally wrong with some things, especially about companies in our area. It doesn't always know what is operating and what has closed.
 
Like any major development in technology, since and including the wheel, this is clearly a groundbreaking innovation, but needs to be treated with respect and responsibility. It is far from perfect. The immediate issue is plagiarism. These are not completely original thoughts created by AI, but a collection of information which is already available, then reconstituted to some extent. It seems to be the next step in evolution from doing a Google search. Rather than asking one question to which you expect a selection of answers, with AI you asking a series of questions, which are then strung together in a sentence.

However, this is certainly something which can save us time and give us inspiration for new original ideas, and should be embraced, with a small amount of caution and scepticism! These algorithms will become more sophisticated without a shadow of a doubt, but for now it seems a little away in the distance. We will certainly be experimenting AI with blog posts, and SEO friendly articles and attempting to rewrite property, descriptions and headlines. Maybe worth checking here https://www.grammarly.com/plagiarism-checker before you publish!
 
AI has been around for a long time, and as with most innovations, we tend to overestimate the short term, while underestimating the long term impact. Our industry provides plenty of opportunity for both good old-fashioned personable hospitality, and scalable and consistent processes. At our company Properly, and as a host, I've been using AI for both: as a host, I've started to produce a series of primers to deliver a more personalized guest experience: eg a curated reading list for guests that would like to develop a deeper understanding of their destination, in my case San Francisco. I started with a list of authors and books from and about the City, the Bay Area and Northern California. Then I added a list of movies and music. And as an experiment, I created a design theme for all wall art at a tiny house using generative AI: the art is unique, fits with the story of the place, and beats the ubiquitous IKEA standard-issue vacation rental wall art by a large margin. On the process side, it makes everything from training guides for guest support, multilingual support, best practice checklist for any standard operating procedure much faster to create. AI also helps us decrease tedious tasks: eg checking that nothing was overlooked, and documenting and comparing a history of verification photos over time to deliver consistent quality, protecting owners from fraudulent refund requests, managing preventive maintenance, delivering low-cost remote inspections, and managing and documenting guest and insurance claims. In summary, at the end it is still the creativity, care and personable hospitality of the owner / operator that need to shine through: but if used thoughtfully, AI can make that process much more effective.
 
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We are just beginning our journey to learn how to leverage AI. For life's repetitive tasks, it seems like AI has a lot to offer that will save us time, reduce labor costs, and, ideally improve our level of service.

We leverage tech to allow us more time for our personal connections with staff, guests, and owners. As long as we keep our eye on the ball, I have to believe that the benefits will be mostly positive.

it's still a people business, and until the robots want time off to stay in a vacation home, I do not see massive disruption in our industry. We are already pretty tech-heavy
 
I fall on the side of optimism - with life in general, and definitely with tech.

I have faith that humanity is good, industrious, and incredibly creative. We've survived hundreds of thousands of years to be where we are. ChaptGPT isn't going to be our end.

Ai is a great tool to fuel creativity. Pass the mundane tasks to Ai and dig deeper into your limited edition.

Bring on the great tech and let's see the magic we can create.
 
Matt, thanks for the shout out! I am enjoying the ride!
In my world, my biggest hope for this Ai thing is that it creates more harmony between humans and our environment. I imagine someday Ai/robots will be able to clean up our rivers, oceans, air. Make it possible for all the things we create to be more circular when their useful time comes to an end. Seems lofty, but that’s way I hope Ai will change my world.
 
There are plenty of brillant applications of Ai. As far as a Utopian Ai future, this must be built on a regulatory foundation. I recently listened to this podcast on Curio “Regulating AI will essential. And complicated.”

There is a spectrum of opinions on this topic. The big question is - Does Ai pose an existential threat, like nuclear weapons? Some Ai researchers believe there is a credible threat. Should Ai be outlawed and banned? Should Ai be regulated like a national security asset and staffed by security-cleared scientists? Less extreme, create criminal liability for individuals who create harmful Ai. Lesser yet, supervision deterrents like fines / administrative rules. Finally, industry-defined standards about reasonable care and lawsuits if companies fail to meet that standards.

ASIDE I admire anyone who can power up a podcast. I like Curio Podcasts for scientific topics because it is expertly curated and professionally narrated podcasts written by legitimate journalists from 30+ of the world’s most trusted publications. Here are the most current Ai topics.
 

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Matt, thanks for the shout out! I am enjoying the ride!
In my world, my biggest hope for this Ai thing is that it creates more harmony between humans and our environment. I imagine someday Ai/robots will be able to clean up our rivers, oceans, air. Make it possible for all the things we create to be more circular when their useful time comes to an end. Seems lofty, but that’s way I hope Ai will change my world.
Recalling the days when I had to run students' college paper through a plagiarism checker.
It's bad enough I send out recycled messages via autoresponders. I have it set up though to wait until I at least add one comment that is specific to the recipient so it appears that I have spent time focused on answering his specific question...which has been asked a thousand times before by others.

Wondering how that can be incorporated into a life/life style?
Who's AI life is it really - the creator of the program or the disrupter of the whole concept.
Do we succumb to what is perceived to be shared values? Can we assure ourselves we are not being sold a nirvana-like answer to what ails?

Interestingly- It may have some serious pushback from the unplugged set.
I could see potential in AI as an accommodation for disability- think as in typing, word suggestions pop up. Could whole systems pop up instead?

LindaS LindaS commented on concerns for education for little ones. Some may counter that the Department of Eds (federal, state and local) already are set up to replace creative thought, with more and more moving to that direction everyday. Imagine having an AI program to assure it stays on the "right" thought track.

I'll let you know how I feel about after I finish Mrs. Daisy on Peacock.

See review:
 
I have been using ChatGPT daily and see several people around me doing the same. It is going to revolutionize many areas, including communication. We are looking to see how AI can help property managers respond to guests' questions quickly and accurately, from pre-booking to post-departure.
I agree with Nars, it will revolutionize with way we communicate and the way we do business. I have been using Ghostwrite and it is simply incredible.
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Conversational AI will create massive dislocation in the STR space. When the OTA's adopt conversational AI along with travel planning the result will be compelling for the consumer to the detriment of direct booking.
I believe that AI will actually replace the OTA's. I know it is a leap but when a guest can ask "find me a 5 bedroom vacation rental with dates open July 1 -8 that sleeps 12" and they get all the choices in a given area plus allows you then to book direct with all the benefits of the larger OTA's : insurance, verification, ect. They will skip the booking fees and get the lowest prices by getting straight to your personal website. Check out HIChee and know this is already happening. It can also allow us to write niche copy in 4 minutes with AI. I am all for it. It can create automatic email sequences for each segment of your ideal guests. And I see so much more. It is not perfect yet but I am already testing to create a marketing calendar, write my posts for facebook and emails. I asked it to give the top 10 hashtags for a post and it did it in 30 seconds. I am so excited!!!!
 
Who's AI life is it really - the creator of the program or the disrupter of the whole concept.
Do we succumb to what is perceived to be shared values? Can we assure ourselves we are not being sold a nirvana-like answer to what ails?

Oh, yeah. Totally feeling you here, DMartinez DMartinez !
 
I read an article shortly after ChatGPT launched from a teacher who was asked about her concerns and how she might use ChatGPT in teaching. I thought her response was creative and outside the box. She is asking her students to use the AI platform to write a paper and present it to the class to collectively disect and discuss.
 
Stay tuned...
Biden administration warns it will crack down on harmful AI business practices https://trib.al/0v2a4oz

See official statement:
“We already see how AI tools can turbocharge fraud and automate discrimination, and we won’t hesitate to use the full scope of our legal authorities to protect Americans from these threats,” said Chair Khan. “Technological advances can deliver critical innovation—but claims of innovation must not be cover for lawbreaking. There is no AI exemption to the laws on the books, and the FTC will vigorously enforce the law to combat unfair or deceptive practices or unfair methods of competition.”
 
I believe that AI will actually replace the OTA's. I know it is a leap but when a guest can ask "find me a 5 bedroom vacation rental with dates open July 1 -8 that sleeps 12" and they get all the choices in a given area plus allows you then to book direct with all the benefits of the larger OTA's : insurance, verification, ect. They will skip the booking fees and get the lowest prices by getting straight to your personal website. Check out HIChee and know this is already happening. It can also allow us to write niche copy in 4 minutes with AI. I am all for it. It can create automatic email sequences for each segment of your ideal guests. And I see so much more. It is not perfect yet but I am already testing to create a marketing calendar, write my posts for facebook and emails. I asked it to give the top 10 hashtags for a post and it did it in 30 seconds. I am so excited!!!!
Matt check out Bing you can ask it to find you a vacation rental in a certain town ect. good bye OTA's Hello GPT optimization. It gave my direct info when I asked how to book directly.
 

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I believe that AI will actually replace the OTA's. I know it is a leap but when a guest can ask "find me a 5 bedroom vacation rental with dates open July 1 -8 that sleeps 12" and they get all the choices in a given area plus allows you then to book direct with all the benefits of the larger OTA's : insurance, verification, ect. They will skip the booking fees and get the lowest prices by getting straight to your personal website. Check out HIChee and know this is already happening. It can also allow us to write niche copy in 4 minutes with AI. I am all for it. It can create automatic email sequences for each segment of your ideal guests. And I see so much more. It is not perfect yet but I am already testing to create a marketing calendar, write my posts for facebook and emails. I asked it to give the top 10 hashtags for a post and it did it in 30 seconds. I am so excited!!!!
I've thought this for a time now, not specifically in the AI context, more in the general Google context.

Google knows an incredible amount about me. Google probably knows more about me than even the Google engineers can imagine. It's all there in the raw data held by Google even if nobody/nothing has worked out how to access and use it yet.

This is where AI, I think, is going to be a game changer. It can access every teeny tiny bit of this data and figure stuff out the engineers writing algorithms could only dream of.

Suppose, in my future, I say to Google: Find me a place to stay in the Lake District please.

Google's AI will know my taste in property from places I've stayed, sites I've lingered on longer than others, emails and photos I've shared with friends. It will know I like being near water from photos I've taken, places I've walked, things I've read. It probably knows a hundred other personal tastes of mine from all the data I've created over the years. Seriously, Google probably knows more about me than I do. I'm not being flippant there, I really believe this.

Put all this together and Google's AI should be pulling up the VRs in the Lake District that most appeal to me. It won't care whether they are OTA, single owner, property manager direct, whatever listing mechanism.

From the guest point of view I find this hugely exciting. It takes away all that grunt work of finding somewhere perfect to stay.

From an owner point of view I also find this hugely exciting because it means I can leave it to Google to find guests for me who are a perfect fit.

For owners, property managers, OTAs, whoever, who just want to be generic I think this is more dangerous. Everyone has taste and preferences. They may not think this way themselves but they do. The blander something gets, IMHO, the more Google will pass it by as being difficult to match to a guests personal taste. Whether the guest knows their own personal taste or not!
 
I've thought this for a time now, not specifically in the AI context, more in the general Google context.

Google knows an incredible amount about me. Google probably knows more about me than even the Google engineers can imagine. It's all there in the raw data held by Google even if nobody/nothing has worked out how to access and use it yet.

This is where AI, I think, is going to be a game changer. It can access every teeny tiny bit of this data and figure stuff out the engineers writing algorithms could only dream of.

Suppose, in my future, I say to Google: Find me a place to stay in the Lake District please.

Google's AI will know my taste in property from places I've stayed, sites I've lingered on longer than others, emails and photos I've shared with friends. It will know I like being near water from photos I've taken, places I've walked, things I've read. It probably knows a hundred other personal tastes of mine from all the data I've created over the years. Seriously, Google probably knows more about me than I do. I'm not being flippant there, I really believe this.

Put all this together and Google's AI should be pulling up the VRs in the Lake District that most appeal to me. It won't care whether they are OTA, single owner, property manager direct, whatever listing mechanism.

From the guest point of view I find this hugely exciting. It takes away all that grunt work of finding somewhere perfect to stay.

From an owner point of view I also find this hugely exciting because it means I can leave it to Google to find guests for me who are a perfect fit.

For owners, property managers, OTAs, whoever, who just want to be generic I think this is more dangerous. Everyone has taste and preferences. They may not think this way themselves but they do. The blander something gets, IMHO, the more Google will pass it by as being difficult to match to a guests personal taste. Whether the guest knows their own personal taste or not!
I agree with you and also see a few other changes AI brings maybe indirectly but notice that now airbnb is getting in on member rewards like the hotels and will dream up other perks and point systems to stay in the game. I also find that AI has biases so expect anything that can count against private owners booking directly to be used against us.

Sites and company's like Evolve don't allow property owners to have their own websites.

I also expect there will be tiers of membership on the OTA's. If you list exclusively with them you will get all types of perks.

CHat gpt give this advice for getting the best price on a property :
  1. Consider booking directly: Booking directly with the property owner or manager can sometimes lead to a better deal, as there are no additional fees or commissions charged by booking sites.

Hummmmm
 
So how's your pre-summer TV/Movie viewing going this summer...with the screen writer's strike?

Nearly 4,000 people lost their jobs last month because of AI — the first time that's been cited as a reason, one report says

Meanwhile...with our eyes focused on our own businesses...

La Quinta, Calif., in the lush Coachella Valley, has turned to an AI-powered solution that mines real estate transactions and other data to zero in on the homes that are operating as unpermitted vacation rentals.

Another challenge in the hospitality industry is the need to optimize operations and reduce costs.

Amen-Amen!

AI can be used to predict and prevent maintenance issues in hotels, as well as to optimize staffing and inventory and revenue management. Additionally, the use of smart hotels, which use sensors, smart locks, and other digital technologies to automate various tasks, is a growing trend that will improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Read lowered-elimination of staff salaries.

Which is good for us given we have little to no housing for any staff anywhere anyway for any job in our community-nay -our entire State.

For that reason it feels justified to add another tax of 15% on our rental costs to pay for LaborForce housing.

SB-584 passed the Senate June 1.. now goes to the Assembly-California Lawmakers Pass 15% Short-Term Rental Tax
 
Next up is to legislate AI. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) has proposed a bill to add a disclaimer on products generated by AI as reported by Axios

See Torres Bill expected to be introduced:
(a) DISCLAIMER REQUIRED.—Generative artificial intelligence shall include on any output generated by such artificial intelligence the following: ‘‘Disclaimer: this out put has been generated by artificial intelligence.’’

Federal agencies would be tasked with filling in the blanks in bills like Torres' on a number of key questions including:
  • How often should a disclaimer be provided?
  • How would attempts to remove a disclaimer be prevented?
  • How would generative AI be distinguished from other types of AI that don't require disclosures?
  • How will content generated by both a person and AI be treated?
Meanwhile... I look forward to that robotic arm in the OR theater that will be doing my up coming knee surgery. Here's to assuring the power stays on!
 
Something to consider if using AI for blogs and/or other marketing purposes. They scrape data from copyrighted property. Then it repurposes it into books, screenplays, research papers, news stories, photos, art, music, code and more — to produce answers, imagery or sound in response to user prompts.

This is illegal. Central to the issue is the doctrine of fair use, which allows copyrighted work to be used without permission under certain conditions.

"In January, Bay Area artist Karla Ortiz joined an Oregon cartoonist and a Tennessee painter to sue UK-based image-generation company Stability AI in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, claiming Stability violated the rights of millions of artists by training its software on more than 5 billion copyrighted images scraped from the internet without permission or compensation."

Stability AI, in an April court filing, argued that its software “enables users to create entirely new and unique images” and that its technology does not produce material with “substantial similarity” to artists’ copyrighted work.


The full story is here:

 

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Matt Landau
Founder, VRMB
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