Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence stopped being a trade-show promise and became the layer rewriting how travel is sold, run and experienced.
How hotel chains should roll out AI without burning the budget
Read → Multi-property operators face a different AI playbook than single hotels. Standardization, sequencing, and governance are the real battles.
Expedia bets on conversational AI while GMs discover what really works
Read → Expedia's acquisition of Layla, the surge in business travel, and what hotel GMs are actually learning on the front lines of AI.
When AI becomes the norm, brand is everything
Read → As AI commoditizes hotel searches and proposals, clear brand identity and genuine relationships become the real competitive edge for sales teams.
What travel AI still hasn't learned from Hipmunk
Read → Hipmunk designed result pages around how travelers actually made decisions. Sixteen years later, AI tools are still struggling to replicate that.
Five luxury hotels capture half of all AI recommendations
Read → Concentration of AI recommendations in a handful of luxury properties raises concerns about distribution inequality. Meanwhile, agentic booking still lacks a commission model.
Hotel AI has a very real data quality problem
Read → An audit of AI-powered recommendations found extreme concentration of results and a demolished hotel being recommended months later. What it reveals about the systems we're using.
Customer Alliance rebuilds feedback: from raw data to operational intelligence
Read → A startup rewires its platform from scratch with generative AI. The shift: moving from passive surveys to automated analysis of what really drives guest behavior. It signals an interesting strategic battle ahead in hospitality tech.
Who Gets Paid When AI Books Your Hotel Room?
Read → As AI assistants execute bookings directly, hotels face an unsettled question: which commission structure applies? The answer will reshape how revenue flows through distribution.
IHG AI Search, RMS TrustYou, Cloudbeds OTA Ads, IRIS Room Service, Nonius CoolAutomation
Read → IHG launches AI-powered search, RMS integrates with TrustYou, Cloudbeds introduces OTA Ads, IRIS boosts room service revenue, Nonius expands guest control.
Amex buys TheFork, TravelAI acquires Sonder brand, Alexa+ sells trips with Priceline, Airbnb adds car
Read → Amex wants TheFork for data and cardmembers. TravelAI snaps up Sonder. Alexa+ books trips with Priceline. Airbnb adds cars. EU digital wallet for hotel check-in. China fines Trip.com $770M.