Booking Holdings CFO Outlines Vision for a Vertical AI Travel Experience
Booking Holdings is approaching artificial intelligence and agentic travel technologies from an “offensive” standpoint, viewing them as a catalyst for growth rather than a defensive necessity, according to CFO Ewout Steenbergen. Speaking at the Nasdaq Investor Conference, he said AI advancements will expand the company’s total addressable market and accelerate the shift from offline to online booking, noting that 30% of the travel market remains offline today.
Steenbergen highlighted the opportunity to keep travellers within a unified “agentic experience environment,” enabling Booking Holdings to deepen engagement, increase share of wallet and connect more elements of the travel journey. He added that future marketing channels will be more diverse, moving away from reliance on a single dominant search platform. With four to six major large language model players emerging, Booking Holdings expects to leverage its strength in large-scale optimisation models and machine learning to allocate performance marketing spend more effectively across channels.
He also said the company’s direct platforms could provide a vertical agent experience comparable to horizontal AI agents, with the ability to inspire travel, build itineraries and guide customers seamlessly through planning. As AI models avoid becoming merchants of record or full OTAs, Steenbergen sees Booking’s environment as the place where the agentic experience can continue end-to-end, supporting travellers pre-trip, in-trip and post-trip.
Steenbergen also detailed areas where Booking Holdings plans to deploy its $170 million investment fund. Priorities include expanding verticals such as attractions and advertising, increasing investment in OpenTable, and strengthening product and technology capabilities in Asia to maintain regional leadership. The company will also intensify investment in generative AI for trip planning, actively testing tools to identify what resonates most with users.
Related news: https://airguide.info/category/air-travel-business/artificial-intelligence/, https://airguide.info/category/air-travel-business/travel-business/
Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com