With people increasingly adopting AI to help plan their vacations, hotels are working to make sure that you check them out – and check in.Whether using ChatGPT or AI-enabled travel sites like Layla.ai, it is already possible to pose search questions like: "Calm hotel with west-facing balcony" or "Charming hotel with spa that accepts dogs".
This simple switch to plain speech searches belies major technical changes that mean hotels have to learn to become visible to AI models.
"We're in complete upheaval: last year 35 percent of French people used artificial intelligence to find a hotel, a cafe or a restaurant," said Nicolas Marette, founder of Custplace, a French company that helps firms optimize their digital presence.
According to a recent study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), around 37 percent of travelers are already using AI-enabled online travel sites to plan and book trips.
Hospitality industry players have taken notice.
