Every hotel owner has heard some version of “AI will kill the OTAs”. It’s a tempting idea if you pay a lot of commission. The evidence so far points somewhere more useful: AI is changing where travellers start, while booking still flows through OTAs and hotel websites. This guide separates what AI tools already do, with dates and sources, from where things might go.
What do OTAs do well today?
OTAs bring a hotel guests it couldn’t reach alone. They put your rooms in front of millions of travellers, handle payments and cancellations, collect reviews, and give guests the comfort of a familiar brand and customer service if something goes wrong.
Those strengths don’t vanish because a traveller asked an AI tool first. Someone who gets a shortlist from ChatGPT still needs to check availability, compare prices and pay somewhere they trust. Today, that’s often an OTA.
What do AI tools already do in travel?
AI tools already plan trips and, increasingly, hand travellers to a booking. Here’s what’s been announced, with dates:
| Product | What it does | Where | Since | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Booking.com AI Trip Planner | Conversational trip planning inside the Booking.com app, with booking from the results | Beta for some US users | June 2023 | Booking Holdings[1] |
| MakeMyTrip Myra | GenAI trip planning assistant across flights, hotels, holidays and more; voice and text; booking within the conversation | India, beta in English and Hindi | August 2025 | MakeMyTrip[2] |
| Apps in ChatGPT | Booking.com and Expedia apps inside ChatGPT conversations | Logged-in users outside the EEA, Switzerland and the UK | October 2025 | OpenAI[3] |
| Hotel booking in Google AI Mode | Hotel options in AI Mode, then “Continue on Google” to book with a partner, paid with Google Pay | US, in English | August 2026 | Google[4] |
Two details matter for independent hotels. First, Google’s partners for AI Mode hotel booking are OTAs and large chains, such as Booking.com, Expedia, Marriott and IHG, and the hotel or booking platform remains the merchant of record.[4] Second, the ChatGPT apps are OTA apps.[3] So far, AI booking runs through the same intermediaries hotels already know.
Are travellers ready to let AI book for them?
For planning, yes. For the final booking, mostly not yet. In Agoda’s 2026 Travel Outlook, 33% of Indian travellers said they already use AI for travel planning.[6] A global Skift Research and McKinsey report, covered in September 2026, found only 16% of travellers had used an AI tool to complete a booking, and 74% prefer to finalise bookings personally.[5] In the same report, 43% booked directly through an airline or hotel website and 42% used an OTA.[5]
Where is AI booking heading?
This section is reasoning, not fact. Based on the announcements above, here’s what we expect:
- AI becomes the front door. More trips will start with a question to an AI tool rather than a search on an OTA. The tool’s shortlist will matter more than a hotel’s position on page three of an OTA list.
- Booking flows through connected partners. AI tools will keep handing bookings to platforms that can confirm availability and take payment reliably. Today that’s mostly OTAs and chains.
- OTAs adapt. They’ll use their inventory, reviews and customer service to stay the place where AI tools send travellers, and keep building AI into their own apps.
- Travel agents shift, not vanish. Complex trips, groups, weddings and corporate travel still need a person. Agents who use AI to work faster are likely to do better than those who don’t.
What are the three scenarios for independent hotels?
Nobody knows which will dominate, and parts of all three may happen at once.
- AI as a new shop window for OTAs. AI tools mostly recommend hotels and send travellers to OTAs to book. What to do: keep your OTA listings complete and accurate, because the AI may be reading them, and make sure guests who search your name can find and book your website.
- AI as a fairer shortlist. AI tools name hotels that match the question best, not the ones that paid for placement, and travellers then search the hotel’s name. What to do: state your specifics clearly everywhere, earn reviews that mention them, and make your own booking engine fast. This is where direct bookings can grow most.
- AI books with hotels directly. AI tools connect to hotels’ own booking systems and complete bookings without an OTA. What to do: nothing urgent today. Watch for announcements, and make sure your booking engine and rates are accurate and can connect when it matters.
Should hotels leave OTAs?
No. Leaving OTAs would cut you off from the platforms AI tools currently send travellers to. The better goal is a healthier mix: OTAs for reach, and more direct bookings from guests who already know your name, including those who found you through an AI tool. Our guide to reducing OTA commission shows how to move bookings gradually without losing occupancy.
What this means for hotel owners
The short version: be the hotel AI tools name, and be easy to book once they do.
- Check what AI tools say about you. Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude the questions your guests ask. Our guide on how Indians plan trips with AI has example questions.
- Fix the sources, not the answer. AI tools read your website, Google listing, OTA pages and reviews. Make the details specific and the same everywhere. See What is AEO for hotels?
- Keep OTA listings strong. They’re one of the places AI tools look, and where many AI-referred travellers will book.
- Make direct booking quick. A traveller who searches your name after an AI recommendation should be able to book on your site in a minute or two.
- Answer fast on WhatsApp. Guests who find you through AI often have a question before they book. Meta launched Business AI on WhatsApp for small businesses in India in May 2026,[7] and a well-set-up WhatsApp flow, with quick answers and a booking link, helps turn those questions into direct bookings. Our Direct Booking Optimization service sets these flows up.
To see where your hotel stands today, book the free AI visibility audit below.