The AI guest is still rare - AI's share of hotel website visits quadrupled in a year and is still under one in a hundred, while half the travelers who have used it for a trip now rely on it most of the time.

Oct 7, 2026 • Hospitality

Booking.com says Europe's hotels don't depend on it - Booking.com's head of public affairs calls Europe's hotel distribution balanced, two weeks after an EU court upheld that Booking dominates online hotel sales.

Oct 7, 2026 • Hospitality

The rules for AI hotel booking are out. Changing the reservation isn't in them. - Google's standard for AI hotel booking, merged September 24 by a council with three OTAs and no independent hotel, ends at the confirmation number.

Oct 7, 2026 • Hospitality

The hold on your guest's card expires long before she arrives - Card networks let a hotel hold money on a card for about 30 days, so the guest who books in spring for summer arrives with nothing blocked, only a card number in your system.

Oct 7, 2026 • Hospitality

Your non-refundable rate can now be canceled - Guests booking direct through Aven's engine can now pay Hopper to refund a non-refundable rate, and the hotel keeps its money plus a commission on the plan that neither company discloses..

Oct 7, 2026 • Hospitality