Artificial Intelligence has burst on the scene as a topic du jour as businesses begin to explore its possibilities. Is it boosting efficiency? Improving consumer experience? Does it threaten jobs or relieve chronic staff shortages while improving worker satisfaction? Both? Where will it take our economy and work life? Though these are early days, AI’s potential is tantalizing. Some of the hype will fall away, while presently unforeseeable benefits will continue to emerge.

That’s why our June 14 Business University session at Blair Education Center at PC Hospital will be so fascinating. Presenter Brett Lechtenberg will show practical small business benefits of AI that increase efficiency, cut costs, reduce drudgery, create new customer insights and improve service.

“For online marketing, for example,” Brett says, “you can tell ChatGPT or BARD, ‘Give me the top 10 best reasons to (you fill in the blank).'” Just think, in an instant, you can have the top 10 reasons to shop at your store, to eat at your restaurant, use a specialized product, etc. You get the drift. There’s no doubt that you’ll need to modify the answers, but it’s faster than starting from scratch and surprisingly sophisticated no matter the type of business. Such a list can be imported into software like CANVA to generate “10 automatically designed, ready-to-go social media posts with relevant images,” Brett says. Total time commitment: about 30 minutes.

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AI has deeper significance for the hospitality industry, says Jordan Hollander at HotelTechReport. By automating repetitive tasks, AI allows staff to be more available to guests. Predictive analytics can forecast customer behavior and trends, making marketing more effective. AI-powered bots are getting better at personalized service and guest recommendations. AI can streamline maintenance, optimize pricing and inventory decisions, and forecast demand (adjusting room availability accordingly). 

“Additionally, AI can personalize pricing and make offers to guests based on their past behavior, allowing hotels to target the right guests with the right offers at the right time,” Hollander says. AI can also spot upselling and cross-selling opportunities, he adds.

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But what do customers think? Do they expect or even want frontline automated service, or do they prefer smiling humans? The jury is still out, though the answer may lie in an AI/Human “working partnership” whose outlines are already coming into view. Chamber partners interested in AI should not miss this event. Register through “Chamber Events” at ParkCityChamber.com

Mid-June also sees us wrap up our Board of Directors election. Ballots were emailed May 30 and must be returned by June 19. I am delighted by the excellence of our 12 candidates, whose profiles are online at visitparkcity.com/board. The top six vote-getters will be seated for four-year terms in July.

I don’t want to get too far into June without saluting everyone celebrating a graduation. From teens to mid-career adults, expanding your possibilities and worldview is always a life-affirming accomplishment. Congratulations! Meanwhile, our partnership with the Park City School District Center for Advanced Progress is giving high-schoolers a shot at making a real-world difference by designing a Mobile Visitor Center — an eco-friendly vehicle delivering tips and advice to visitors wherever they are, helping promote sustainable recreation, lodging, food and entertainment options, and answer questions. What will our student team come up with? Stay tuned!

Finally, a big shout out to Chamber partners Rob and Sara Sergent of Alpine Distilling, the sole U.S. whiskey participants selected to the May Worldwide Distilled Spirits Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. Rob, whose whiskey expertise earned him the title of Colonel in 2022 from the governor of Kentucky, was on hand to speak. For expert gin distiller Sara, it was a kind of homecoming. She received her gin education in Edinburgh and the Royal Gardens. Last year, her London Gin received Europe’s Gin of the Year Gold Medal. Congratulations to this accomplished local twosome!