Hotel Room Bookings Powered by AI

Major hotel groups are stepping up their loyalty programmes to compete not only with online travel agencies (OTAs) like Expedia and Booking.com, but also with new AI-powered booking agents from companies such as Google and OpenAI. OTAs typically charge hotels commissions of 15 – 25 percent and control valuable customer data, which has long pushed hotels to encourage direct bookings through rewards, discounts and member benefits.

With AI tools now enabling travellers to book rooms through conversational, agent-led platforms, competition has intensified. In response, hotel chains are making loyalty status easier to attain and offering more incentives. Marriott’s Bonvoy programme has reached nearly 260 million members, while Hilton, Hyatt and Wyndham have expanded partnerships and simplified elite status upgrades to retain customers and drive direct bookings.

While some hoteliers see AI agents as a growing challenge, others view them as an opportunity. Wyndham, for instance, believes platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini can help reduce dependence on OTAs and is already using in-house AI tools to attract more direct reservations.