How AI Impacts Travel (and How to Prepare)
TLDR: How will AI impact the way travelers discover trip and destination ideas? The internet is overflowing with predictions, many in service of brand new services. We’re keen to explore many of them! What’s most fascinating is the ways that AI chat experiences reveal user behaviors that were there all along, what Search Engine Land calls “query stacking” in a recent article. They mean this: people search, look at the results, and do several follow up searches to get as specific as possible before clicking. Keep your eyes open and listen to your customers.
Above all else, do this: Make information about your hotel easy to find, relevant to the needs of travelers today, and inspiring to read. That helps AI, and everyone else, find, book, and enjoy your hotel.
AI and Travel Shopping Behaviors
As the world races ahead and embraces the apparent usefulness of generative AI, let’s take a moment and back up to think about how most people plan travel today. The Search Engine Land piece includes an interesting comparison of search behaviors. We’d like to take it a step further. Consider the travel agent or travel advisor. It’s a knowledgeable human being supported by a network of services. They answer questions, book hotel accommodations, make recommendations, and save your bacon if things go sideways. It’s no wonder people continue to use them!
Most people plan and book travel on their own. Their primary tool: a search engine like Google. Consider the process. They might start with ideas, like “top family friendly towns in New England,” narrow down to a set of towns, and eventually settle on attractions and hotels. They may or may not click! After all, pricing and amenities are somewhat visible through Google.
Increasingly, people search for travel information outside of search engines. This is where AI plays a role. Get on Meta AI, Chat GPT, or any other generative AI tool and start asking for travel advice. You’ll find that they’re all pretty good at asking follow up questions, suggesting ideas, estimating drive times, and even spotlighting hidden gems. It’s no wonder people respond well to them — they’re like a search engine AND a travel agent! However, unlike an agent the AI hasn’t been there, doesn’t know the owner, and tends to have a rosier view of things. We’re still learning how people prefer to use AI to supplement or outright run their hotel discovery.
How AI is Used in Travel Discovery Today
Not everyone plays around with ChatGPT or other AI tools. Almost everyone searches on Google. Google’s AI Overviews are starting to introduce AI-generated responses to travel queries. Ask more nuanced questions like “how to choose a hotel in new york city” and the top spot now contains advice on neighborhoods, amenities, and even three smaller hotels. Type “tips for planning Napa travel” and the overview offers advice on seasonality, budget for accommodations, wineries worth visiting, weather, and other considerations. Google picked up on the context of the question more naturally, and answered it. Meta’s AI offering, meanwhile, exists within their platform ecosystem. Like ChatGPT and other chatbots, all it takes is a few prompts to get ideas flowing.
More specific applications have rushed into the space as well – assistants trained to make recommendations, build itineraries, and book flights and rooms. On the back-end, they’re often integrated with common booking engines and websites. The users gain a more intuitive experience where they can get specific, set conditions, and expect better results. They all promise a better, more personalized experience. And they all take their commission.
Where AI Could Disrupt Hotel Marketing
In the hotel marketing ecosystem, properties absolutely must address certain factors. These include important location information and search discoverability, using important keywords for your region, and ensuring that the online booking process is smooth, with few interruptions. Today, a few key platforms, chiefly Google, control much of this real estate for making hotels discoverable. With AI, users can string together the most nuanced conditions for a prompt, generating results that would never rank in the top 20 of the Google Search Engine Results Page. Whether Google, Meta, or a series of upstarts comes to define how AI is used for travel — that remains to be seen.
Our Take on AI in Travel
AIs are trained. And training data comes from the internet. Until we know what AI optimization truly looks like, the most actionable steps we can take today include:
Auditing your website content: Make sure you clearly state where you are, who you’re for, and what you offer.
Tell a fuller story of your destination: On interior pages, make recommendations and answer common questions. Be conversational!
Participate in social media: On platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit, create an account and chime in when people come looking for advice from a local.
Experiment! Put yourself in the position of a traveler looking for a spot like yours. Open an AI tool and start asking question about your corner of the world. It may even inspire you to tailor your offerings.