Meet the winner of the AAHOACON26 Tech Pitch Competition
By Cathleen Draper
In a rapidly evolving landscape, staying ahead requires vigilance and foresight. Luckily for hotel owners, there are plenty of companies forging ahead with products and applications that promise to boost profitability, simplify operations, enhance staff engagement, and revolutionize guest experiences.
The AAHOACON26 Tech Pitch Competition, co-powered by Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), recognized eight such companies.
Selected from a pool of cutting-edge technologies, these eight finalists faced off for the coveted title of Tech Pitch Winner. And the competition was tight – the top three contenders were ranked within one point of each other by the panel of judges.
But only one took home the crown. And this year, Sadie AI, an agentic AI voice assistant, claimed first place. Sadie will receive a complimentary booth at AAHOACON27 in Anaheim, CA. Roomiy Finance secured second place, and Ocra came in third.
“Hospitality is evolving quickly, and the Tech Pitch Competition showcases the ideas that are helping owners adapt and thrive,” AAHOA Chairman Rahul Patel said. “These finalists demonstrated how thoughtful technology can solve real operational challenges, improve efficiency, and create better experiences for both guests and teams. We congratulate Sadie AI on a well-earned achievement.”
The Why – and How – of Sadie AI
Sami Hilal, CEO of Sadie’s hotel division, took the podium at the competition to lay out just why Sadie is invaluable for modern hotel operations. He started with the “why” behind Sadie. “The problem is, hotels miss calls,” Hilal said. “That leads to missed reservations, and that leads to poor guest experience.” Anywhere from 10 to 40 percent of hotel calls go unanswered – and 30 percent of those callers are looking to book. When placed on hold, seven out of 10 callers hang up within a minute. And, if unable to reach a hotel by phone, more than half of these travelers turn to OTAs or book elsewhere. With Sadie, “you’ll never miss a phone call again,” Hilal said.
Sadie started out as an AI host for restaurants – answering calls, creating reservations, and taking orders – before expanding into the world of hotels.
Her purpose in the hotel industry is similar, acting as “an extension of your front desk,” Hilal said. Her key differentiator, he explained, is her property management system integrations – Sadie integrates with Mews, the official PMS of AAHOA, as well as several other solutions.
A deep connection to the PMS is essential. “That’s where you see value. That’s what the front desk is doing – they’re using the PMS to answer questions over the phone and record things around a reservation,” Hilal said.
Thanks to that integration, Sadie manages room reservations, pulling rates and availability and placing reservations, ensuring hotels never miss a booking opportunity. She can update availability for a property and modify guest reservations, even adding notes, such as indicating that a guest will arrive late or updating their bedding preferences. It’s a simple step for her, but one that can be unwieldy for front desk staff who are already stretched thin.
Owners can upload amenities, service hours, and hotel policies, tailoring Sadie and her responses so she provides accurate information to guests, from parking options to securing an appointment at the spa to the hotel restaurant’s menu offerings.
She also acts as a virtual concierge, addressing common questions that pull front desk staff away from more pressing tasks that require a human touch: What time is check-in or check-out? How do I get to the hotel? Where should I eat or what should I do in the area?
And Sadie does it all while adapting to the person on the other end of the line. She speaks multiple languages and naturally understands a caller’s emotions, adjusting her tone to deliver personalized, situationally aware interactions.
She knows her limits, though – Sadie never improvises. Her responses are grounded in the precise information a hotel owner, operator, or PMS feeds to her.
“Let’s say that a customer is asking for something she can’t do,” Hilal said. “She’ll transfer to the front desk, and that’s where a human will have the chance to pick up.”
And if the front desk agent is unavailable, Sadie will flag the call, indicating that she couldn’t answer a query. The front desk staff can then call back when they are freed up and update Sadie with the missing information, allowing her to answer that same question in the future.
When Sadie Steps In
According to Hilal, Sadie has three different use cases.
The first, and broadest, is that Sadie handles every incoming call, answering traveler queries as she’s been programmed.
The second is overflow coverage, especially during the busiest hours of the day for front desk staff. In this case, the phone will ring three times, encouraging the human touch when things are quiet. But if front desk staff is occupied, like during the start of check-in, Sadie picks up.
The third is during off-hours. If a property does not staff the front desk overnight, Sadie is available.
“At that point, Sadie always picks up the phone, and you never miss a phone call again,” Hilal explained. “There is never someone in front of Sadie. She’ll never put you on hold.”
There is no single type of hotel that can benefit from Sadie.
“Every hotel misses calls in some shape or form,” Hilal said. “Some may miss more than others, and those are the ones in need of Sadie.”
He provided an example: Remote properties, which might face ongoing staffing challenges, including high turnover given their location.
“Those areas could have Sadie as a ‘worker’ that’s always there, always on, that can always help, regardless of if someone calls in sick or leaves for a new job,” Hilal said.
Small, independent properties stand to benefit, too. There, an owner or general manager might do everything on the property, including waking up in the middle of the night to field calls with questions that could be found in an FAQ.
“Sadie’s able to give owners and GMs back their time to actually enjoy a meal with their family or enjoy a good night’s sleep,” Hilal opined.
But Sadie’s biggest impact is on the bottom line.
Take Flamingo Motel, a 70-key property in Ocean City, MD. The motel implemented Sadie to handle overflow and after-hours calls – ones that otherwise would have gone to voicemail. By the time staff called these customers back, they often would have booked somewhere else.
Sadie changed the game. In just two months, she secured $38,000 in guaranteed booking revenue for the property.
The Vision Comes to Life
When Hilal signed on with Sadie, he’d travel to hotels and demonstrate how the agent works. “And they’d say, ‘This would be life changing,’” he recalled.
“I truly believe in Sadie and how it will change hospitality for the better,” Hilal continued. “I was thrilled that I was invited to the Tech Pitch Competition. I wanted to share with everyone there what Sadie can do for their operations.”
On the AAHOACON26 Trade Show floor, Hilal gave a live demo of Sadie, showcasing how she sounds and what she can do for the judges and audience. Between the “why” behind Sadie, a preview of how she operates, and the impact implementing Sadie has on a hotel, Hilal wowed the judges.
“It was a surreal moment,” Hilal said of winning. “There was so much good competition that it was such a toss-up. I didn’t know that I would win.
“I’m very confident in the product and my team, and I believe that one in three hotels in the next five years will have a voice AI solution at their front desk. We really believe in that vision.”
Hilal celebrated with his team, and in the aftermath of AAHOACON, he found that the win has propelled them forward, reinforcing their belief that they’re doing something right – and it’s paying off.
Hilal and his team continue to be laser-focused on delivering the top voice AI agent for hotels, “period,” he said.
“What’s next is continuing to drive adoption, making our customers super happy about Sadie,” Hilal said. “What drives me and what drives a team is positive feedback and making a difference in hotel operations. We’re going to continue working with our partners to achieve that and make the product even better.”
2026 Tech Pitch Competition Finalists
The competition at this year’s Tech Pitch was strong. Learn more about the seven companies that presented their cutting-edge solutions alongside Sadie.
Lilo: An AI-powered procurement platform. Recently acquired by AAHOA Platinum Industry Partner Inn-Flow, a hotel accounting software, Lilo is now called Inn-Flow Procurement.
Ocra (Allied Member): Manages hotel parking inventory and pricing, maximizing non-guest revenue for hotels.
Roomiy Finance (Bronze Industry Partner): A prepaid distribution and liquidity platform that converts future room nights into predictable cash flow.
StayNow: NowAI, an agentic AI assistant, crafts curated itineraries and connects travelers with hotels, restaurants, and experiences based on their preferences.
TakeUp AI: An AI-powered dynamic pricing tool that maximizes total revenue for independent hotels.
VSR Network Technologies, LLC (Allied Member): VAIA, a conversational agentic AI platform, takes on a hotel’s operational tasks across voice, chat, text, and email.
WithCoverage (Allied Member): A team of insurance experts, empowered by AI, helps businesses save tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars on insurance premiums.
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