Recently, I was planning a vacation to Portugal. Not having the time necessary to sift through endless options and reviews, I found myself looking to my travel companions Chat GPT and Perplexity to do some of the research and help me build just the right experience that allowed my wife and I to focus on the experiences that mattered to us.
NB: This is an article from Revenue Generation
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It’s both exciting and scary to contemplate the sources AI uses to come up with its recommendations for the “perfect vacation” AI travel planners analyze past travel behavior, preferences, and even social media activity to suggest unique destinations, hotels, and activities tailored to an individual’s interests. AI algorithms organize routes for optimal time and cost efficiency, saving users hours of research and indecision. They automatically find the best deals, apply discounts, and recommend cost-effective options, helping travelers get more value from their vacation budget.
Can we get the 800 lb. monkey off our back?
According to a recent Accenture survey of 18,000 consumers across 14 countries, 80 percent of travelers are using AI tools for travel purposes, and over half are willing to let AI fully manage their travel planning and bookings.
Accenture found that 81% of travelers want immersive experiences during the research and discovery phase, while 79% want a brand that “makes them feel special” by remembering them personally. Brands that provide these emotionally engaging experiences also see higher engagement, with travelers also more willing to accept a higher price from them.
Once again, we stand at a crossroads: either allow online travel agents (OTAs) to define this future for us and continue paying the price for access to our own guests or seize this opportunity to lead. We need to ensure that when travelers turn to AI for guidance, it is our story, our value, and our experience that comes first. As an industry we have been talking about reliance on OTA’s for over 20 years and for the first time in a long time we have an opportunity to change the narrative.
Rewriting the Rules: How Hotels Win in an AI-Driven Marketplace
As we think about distribution and marketing priorities, integrating AI is not only urgent but no longer an option. The main goal here is to make marketing and distribution strategies more personalized, real-time, and conversational. Hotels that rely on static contracts and a few OTA’s are at risk of being overlooked by an ever-growing audience that will increase their reliance on AI agents to do ensure they get the best experience and rate.
