Artificial intelligence continues to transform the hospitality industry in various ways, and its evolution will continue to have far-reaching impacts on hotels in unpredictable ways. One area where AI is changing the game is generative engine optimization (GEO), as properties are competing for visibility in AI-driven search engines. Travelers are increasingly using AI when planning their next stay, forcing hoteliers to adjust their marketing strategies accordingly.
This shift also affects hotels’ reservation systems and booking platforms. OTAs already have the advantage in navigating this landscape, as AI prefers their data to most direct-booking models, making it imperative for hotel teams to adapt accordingly. Amy Read, vice president of innovation at Aven Hospitality, recently spoke with LODGING and discussed AI’s impact on OTAs and direct bookings. Read also shared strategies for hoteliers navigating this change.
Travelers are increasingly using AI the way they once used traditional search engines. How is that shift changing the way hotels need to think about digital visibility?
Travelers are shifting from searching to asking, which means hotels are no longer competing for page position but to be selected by an algorithm. In this world, visibility is driven less by SEO and spend and more by how well a hotel’s data can be understood, trusted, and matched to guest intent. That requires structured, high-quality, governed data (not just marketing content), which will enable AI to accurately represent and recommend the property. In short, hotels must move from optimizing for clicks to optimizing to be the answer guests are looking for.
What mistakes are hotels most likely to make as they try to adapt to this shift? How can they avoid them?
One common mistake is assuming AI visibility works like traditional search, something that can be “turned on” with a campaign or plugin. Another is relying too heavily on third-party intermediaries, which often provide incomplete or outdated data to AI systems. Hotels can avoid these pitfalls by focusing on owning and governing their source-of-truth data, and by enabling direct, structured connections between their reservation systems and AI platforms.
If a hotel operator asked you what they should prioritize right now to prepare for AI-driven travel search, what would you tell them?
Start with your foundation: ensure your core content, rates, availability, and policies are clean, structured, and consistently managed within your reservation ecosystem. AI readiness is less about experimentation and more about operational discipline. Hotels that invest early in data integrity and system connectivity will be far better positioned as AI becomes a mainstream discovery channel.
Why do many hotels struggle to appear effectively in AI-driven search and booking tools today? What are the biggest technical barriers?
Most hotels weren’t designed to serve AI directly. Their data is often fragmented across systems, locked in unstructured formats, or exposed only through intermediaries. AI systems need clear, governed interfaces to retrieve reliable information. Without this, AI defaults to third-party sources like OTAs, which offer cleaner, more reliable, and better-structured data, even if it’s not the richest or most detailed.
Online travel agencies have long dominated search and discovery. Does the rise of AI risk strengthening their position even further, or could it create new opportunities for hotels to reclaim direct bookings?
In the short term, AI is likely to strengthen OTAs—they already provide clean, structured, and accessible data, making them the default source for recommendations. In the long term, it creates a real opportunity for hotels to win back direct bookings. Hotels already have the richest, most detailed data; they just need to structure, map, and control how it’s exposed. AI doesn’t favor intermediaries—it favors what it can understand, trust, and transact with. So, if hotels get that right, they can start to reclaim direct bookings.
How might AI-powered discovery change the way revenue managers think about distribution strategies and channel mix?
AI introduces a new decision layer that sits above traditional channels, shifting revenue management from distribution mix to intent match. It’s no longer about where inventory is listed, but how pricing, content, and offers are understood and selected by AI. That elevates the importance of direct, AI-connected channels where hotels can control context and presentation and reduces reliance on channels that abstract the product and limit control.
Given the way that AI tools can recommend and even book travel for consumers, how can hotels maintain control over pricing, inventory, and the guest relationship?
Hotels maintain control by ensuring pricing, inventory, and policies are set and governed at the core, then exposed to AI in a structured, permissioned way. That means deciding which rates, offers, and content are available to which AI channels, and under what conditions. They also need to enable direct transaction capability, so bookings can happen without handing off control to intermediaries, and ensure guest data and relationships flow back to them.
What role will structured data, integrations, and reservation system architecture play in determining which hotels surface in AI-driven results?
AI doesn’t “browse.” Instead, it selects from what it can reliably understand and act on. That puts the CRS at the center as structured data defines how a hotel is interpreted, integrations make it accessible, and the reservation system ensures it’s trusted, governed, and transaction-ready. If data is clean, structured, secure, and controlled at the core, hotels can surface and transact directly with confidence. If it’s fragmented, inconsistent, or poorly governed, they become invisible or reliant on intermediaries.
Looking ahead, how do you see AI changing the balance of power between hotels, OTAs, and technology platforms over the next few years?
AI will likely redistribute power rather than concentrate it. Hotels that invest in AI-ready infrastructure will gain new leverage and visibility. Those that don’t may become even more dependent on intermediaries. Ultimately, the winners will be the players—hotels, platforms, or partners—who make it easiest for AI to deliver accurate, trustworthy booking experiences.
