# Kayak founders return with Lola, backed by Booking Holdings

Canonical-URL: https://hoteltech.news/digest/lola-booking-kayak-ai-travel
Text-Version: https://hoteltech.news/digest/lola-booking-kayak-ai-travel.txt
Markdown-Version: https://hoteltech.news/digest/lola-booking-kayak-ai-travel.md
Language: en
Published: 2026-09-29T18:31:34.695Z
Modified: 2026-09-29T18:31:34.695Z
Author: Joan Sanz
Topics: Artificial Intelligence
Summary: Booking Holdings backs Lola, the new bet from Kayak's founders to sell travel through AI agents. A fresh playbook for hotel direct sales.

## Article

Two decades after launching Kayak to sort out the chaos of finding flights and hotels online, **Steve Hafner and Paul English** are back with a new bet. It is called **Lola**, and it arrives backed by **Booking Holdings** to try out a fresh way of selling travel for the AI era, according to [Smart Travel News](https://www.smarttravel.news/los-fundadores-de-kayak-vuelven-con-lola-booking-holdings-prueba-una-nueva-forma-de-vender-viajes-en-la-era-de-la-ia/).

The pattern repeats, only the tools change. Where Kayak once organised abundance through a metasearch that compared and ranked options for travelers, Lola works the conversational angle. An AI agent that helps decide and book, rather than just showing a list. Booking's involvement is the detail worth watching: the group is testing a model that could end up shaping how hotel direct sales get done.

My read: this is good news for the industry. **Hafner and English** have a track record, Booking has the muscle, and AI agents open a door that hotels should not ignore. 

If the big test works, independent hotels could gain another channel to push direct bookings and cut some friction for travelers. Worth keeping an eye on.

## Sources

- Smart Travel News: https://www.smarttravel.news/los-fundadores-de-kayak-vuelven-con-lola-booking-holdings-prueba-una-nueva-forma-de-vender-viajes-en-la-era-de-la-ia/

## Citation

Kayak founders return with Lola, backed by Booking Holdings. Hotel Tech News. 2026-09-29. https://hoteltech.news/digest/lola-booking-kayak-ai-travel