AI Is Redefining the Front Door of Hotel Booking

Generative and agentic artificial intelligence could reshape the balance of power in hotel distribution, creating new opportunities for suppliers to reclaim direct relationships with travelers. At The Phocuswright Conference in San Diego, industry leaders Richard Holden (former GM of Google Travel), Stephen Kaufer (founder and former CEO of Tripadvisor) and Sanjay Vakil (CEO and co-founder of DirectBooker) explored how AI is transforming the “front door” of hotel booking.

Holden said AI has the potential to redefine the role of travel aggregators and shift long-standing market dynamics. “New front doors are going to be created,” he said. “From a supplier perspective, that’s an opportunity to change the dynamic that’s existed for the past 20 years.” He noted that OTAs historically outmaneuvered suppliers by controlling key entry points to travelers, but AI could open the door to more direct consumer engagement.

Vakil highlighted the growing influence of conversational interfaces such as ChatGPT, which centralize the travel planning process. Instead of navigating dozens of websites, travelers can ask questions and receive accurate, immediate responses in a single continuous flow. This shift, he said, represents a “deep transformation” in how travelers search for information—and suppliers often have the best answers.

Intermediaries have built efficient but limited datasets, Vakil added, while suppliers hold richer, more detailed information that AI can now surface more effectively.

However, Kaufer cautioned that OTAs still hold a strong advantage due to their scale and early adoption of AI. The challenge, he said, is ensuring AI engines receive the data they need—real-time availability, rates, inventory and unique content that OTAs may not offer—so supplier-direct channels can compete effectively.

The session also touched on funding trends, past ventures and the evolving AI ecosystem, underscoring how rapidly hotel distribution may shift as agentic AI becomes the traveler’s preferred starting point.

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com

Tags: phocuswire, SyndicEx251214B

AI Is Redefining the Front Door of Hotel Booking

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