Walk into any hospitality event today and you will hear the same words everywhere. MCP. GEO. Agentic AI. LLMs. They are dropped into conversations as if everyone already knows what they mean. Most people nod along.
NB: This is an article from The Hotels Network, one of our Expert Partners
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In reality, many hoteliers are still trying to understand what these terms actually refer to and why they suddenly matter. AI has moved fast, and the language around it has moved even faster.
At the same time, the way travelers discover hotels is changing. Trip planning increasingly starts with a question asked to AI, not a list of search results. Guests compare options, refine preferences, and make decisions inside a conversation. If AI is summarizing hotels in seconds, your property needs to be something it can clearly understand and accurately describe. This shift affects more than technology teams. It touches marketing, revenue strategy, distribution, and the guest experience. AI is becoming a new discovery channel, much like mobile or metasearch once were.
The challenge is that AI vocabulary keeps expanding, and very little of it is explained in plain terms. That is why we created a full glossary of AI Terms for Hoteliers. It breaks down the most common AI terms without technical jargon, so you can follow the conversation and understand what actually matters for your hotel. Below is a short introduction to a few key terms, with the full glossary available whenever you need it.
A few terms that help make sense of the shift to AI
Agentic AI
AI that takes action, not just answers questions. Agentic AI is the newest technology around AI these days – it’s very early stage and keeps evolving, almost on a daily basis
Regular AI: Guest asks “What hotels have pools in Austin?” AI responds: “Here are five hotels with pools”
Agentic AI: Guest says “Book me a hotel with a pool in Austin next weekend” AI searches availability, compares options, checks live prices, makes the reservation, sends confirmation. All in one conversation.
A concierge who recommends restaurants versus a concierge who recommends AND books the table AND arranges your car. Agentic AI completes the entire task.
MCP (Model Context Protocol)
MCP is an open standard designed to standardize how AI systems (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) connect to external tools, systems, and data sources. Think of a USB-C connector for AI.
For hotels this standard lets AI check your live rates and availability right now, not guess based on the information found online.
Breaking down the acronym:
- Model = The AI behind ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini
- Context = Information the AI needs
- Protocol = Standard rules for exchanging that information
