3 areas that are at the top of my mind that are under discussed when talking AI / travel tech:
1. Most people focus on the demand side of AI, but the inventory / supply side of AI will be a huge moat for the OTAs. Even if OAI develops the technology to automate direct hotel bookings, I think the revenue model behind that (since they won't necessarily have commission agreements in place) will take a very long time, unless OAI quickly scales to scenario #1 that you've laid out.
2. In my almost two decades working in the consumer travel industry, I've learned that one of the top things that is underweighted is the important of CONTEXT and CHOICES when making travel selections. People don't just want to see the 3 best options, they want to know all of the choices they have (similar to Goolge) and to be able to compare / contrast. The UI / UX of an AI Agent is going to be just critical as the technical side (latency, privacy, etc) to the adoption. You address it in the Visual Discovery section, but this will take a while to work through.
3. Regarding servicing, I can't imagine a world where OAI is actually the agent and servicing the bookings. I think they have their eyes on the larger horizontal prize. If they were to outsource the booking and servicing side of it, I think this is such an interesting question in the industry. Which of the giants steps up to potentially disrupt themselves and the industry? My mind immediately goes to Hopper, as they have the least to lose, but strategically this has some real prisoner dilemma vibes to it.
Overall, I think the OTAs remain in the driver seat, but need to have a much higher sense of urgency here. The small product tweaks and innovations are not nearly enough compared to the tsunami of innovation that is coming with AI and travel.
Such a great piece - thanks for sharing your thoughts!
3 areas that are at the top of my mind that are under discussed when talking AI / travel tech:
1. Most people focus on the demand side of AI, but the inventory / supply side of AI will be a huge moat for the OTAs. Even if OAI develops the technology to automate direct hotel bookings, I think the revenue model behind that (since they won't necessarily have commission agreements in place) will take a very long time, unless OAI quickly scales to scenario #1 that you've laid out.
2. In my almost two decades working in the consumer travel industry, I've learned that one of the top things that is underweighted is the important of CONTEXT and CHOICES when making travel selections. People don't just want to see the 3 best options, they want to know all of the choices they have (similar to Goolge) and to be able to compare / contrast. The UI / UX of an AI Agent is going to be just critical as the technical side (latency, privacy, etc) to the adoption. You address it in the Visual Discovery section, but this will take a while to work through.
3. Regarding servicing, I can't imagine a world where OAI is actually the agent and servicing the bookings. I think they have their eyes on the larger horizontal prize. If they were to outsource the booking and servicing side of it, I think this is such an interesting question in the industry. Which of the giants steps up to potentially disrupt themselves and the industry? My mind immediately goes to Hopper, as they have the least to lose, but strategically this has some real prisoner dilemma vibes to it.
Overall, I think the OTAs remain in the driver seat, but need to have a much higher sense of urgency here. The small product tweaks and innovations are not nearly enough compared to the tsunami of innovation that is coming with AI and travel.
Such a great piece - thanks for sharing your thoughts!