Apaleo and THE FLAG group have advanced the use of agentic AI in hotel operations with their AI Trace Agent, which autonomously translates guest reservation comments into actionable tasks for hotel staff.
The Trace Agent identifies guest needs including birthdays, extra beds, baby cots, and other special requests from reservation comments, automatically creating tasks in Sweeply.
THE FLAG’s housekeeping tool Sweeply eliminates manual transfer of information between systems. The system is currently active at THE FLAG Zürich, a 101-room property that tests technology for the group.
At THE FLAG Zürich, the Trace Agent creates approximately 30 tasks each day automatically. This automation saves an estimated 3.5 hours each week in direct task creation time, with additional efficiencies arising from reduced communication between departments.
While the immediate time savings are notable, Apaleo states that the core value lies in preparing for further automation. Automating task creation sets the stage for deeper agent-to-agent coordination where guest requests can be triaged, assigned, and resolved with minimal human intervention.
According to the companies, this connectivity aims to produce measurable improvements in both guest experience and operational performance.
Apaleo developed the Trace Agent through its Agent Factory, collaborating with Sweeply to create secure API endpoints that allow agents to manage tasks directly. The prototype was operational within one month and went live after two and a half months of iteration.
Apaleo CEO and founder Ulrich Pillau said: “Everyone is talking about agentic AI, but hotels need practical examples of how it works in day-to-day operations. THE FLAG’s Trace Agent demonstrates how agentic AI applications can improve coordination across departments, creating autonomous hotel operations.
“We’re excited to continue working with forward-thinking hoteliers to identify precise opportunities where AI can improve operations and co-create AI agents with them.”
THE FLAG plans to expand Trace Agent deployment across its other properties and develop additional agents for different operational tasks. Planned upgrades include allowing agents to directly book services within integrated systems, automatically inform guests once their requests are confirmed, and help allocate rooms according to guest preferences.
Prior to this, Cocoon & Eckelmann Hotels announced plans to move its entire portfolio to Apaleo’s open application programming interface (API)-first property management platform.
“Apaleo, THE FLAG group deploy agentic AI for hotel task automation” was originally created and published by Hotel Management Network, a GlobalData owned brand.
