# Travel customer acquisition moves to private treaties

Canonical-URL: https://hoteltech.news/digest/private-treaties-travel-acquisition
Text-Version: https://hoteltech.news/digest/private-treaties-travel-acquisition.txt
Markdown-Version: https://hoteltech.news/digest/private-treaties-travel-acquisition.md
Language: en
Published: 2026-07-22T14:16:13.353Z
Modified: 2026-09-05T11:07:58.632Z
Author: Joan Sanz
Topics: Revenue & Distribution
Summary: AI search shrinks open channels, big travel players swap member bases in private deals.

## Article

According to **Skift**, the way travelers are being captured is changing from top to bottom. **AI in search engines** is shrinking the open channel where travel companies used to buy customers. So the big players are negotiating **private deals** to swap loyalty member databases among themselves.

This is not some minor experiment. We are talking about airlines, hotel groups and OTAs passing loyal customers to each other without going through Google or metasearch. For hoteliers, the takeaway is clear: whoever has a strong database and knows how to negotiate with other big players gets access without depending on open traffic.

I see a huge opportunity here for **chains with strong loyalty programs** and a wake-up call for the independent hotel. If you do not have your own volume, you need to partner up or find a way into those closed circuits. Distribution is moving to the back office.

## Sources

- Skift: https://skift.com/2026/07/22/travel-customer-acquisition-is-moving-into-private-treaties/

## Citation

Travel customer acquisition moves to private treaties. Hotel Tech News. 2026-07-22. https://hoteltech.news/digest/private-treaties-travel-acquisition