Curator Hotel & Resort Collection teams with Canary Technologies on AI tech powered Guest Management tools
Curator Hotel & Resort Collection, a membership-based collection of independent boutique and lifestyle hotels and resorts, has announced a partnership with Canary Technologies.
Through Curator’s Preferred Vendor Programme, members will receive preferred access to Canary’s AI powered guest management platform and digital guest journey tools.
“Independent lifestyle hotels thrive because they are distinctive, creative and deeply personal,” says Jennifer Barnwell, President at Curator Hotel & Resort Collection. “The opportunity is to provide these hotels with modern tools that reduce friction behind the scenes while preserving the human connection that makes special. Canary gives our members access to a powerful, hotel specific technology platform that can improve responsiveness, drive ancillary revenue, streamline operations and enhance the guest experience, all while allowing each property to preserve its own voice and identity.”
“We view AI and automation as practical operating tools to improve the guest experience - not technology for technology’s sake,” says Raymond D. Martz, Co-President and Chief Financial Officer at Pebblebrook Hotel Trust. “The objective is simple: create a more seamless guest experience and free our hotel teams to spend more time delivering thoughtful service. Canary’s platform supports that objective by combining AI powered voice, messaging and webchat with digital arrival and departure tools, secure payment solutions, mobile ordering and dynamic upsell capabilities. Together, these tools improve guest responsiveness, increase productivity and help our hotels create more connected moments throughout the guest journey.”
Canary’s platform is built specifically for hotels and integrates with major PMS and CRS providers, enabling properties to personalise communication, streamline workflows and centralise guest interactions across multiple channels. Its AI Agent Studio also allows hotels to tailor AI agents to property specific workflows, brand voice, business rules and guest service needs.
“Curator and Pebblebrook understand where hospitality is headed,” says Rebecca Sheehan, Head of Strategic Alliances at Canary Technologies. “The best hotel technology should help teams deliver better service, not distract from it. Our platform gives independent hotels enterprise grade AI and guest management tools that are easy to deploy, highly flexible and built around real hotel workflows. We’re excited to continue this partnership with Curator and support Pebblebrook as they continue using technology to improve productivity, guest satisfaction and hotel profitability.”
“Curator was built to help independent hotels compete together while staying independent,” adds Barnwell. “This partnership is a natural extension of that mission. Canary gives our members a modern toolkit to operate more efficiently, communicate more effectively and monetise the guest journey more thoughtfully, without forcing a one size fits all approach.”
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
