Can hotel wholesalers survive the age of AI?

Rethinking hotel distribution as ai reshapes search, booking, and intermediary value

Hotel wholesalers like Hotelbeds, WebBeds, and Expedia Partner Solutions continue to play a role in global travel distribution, but their traditional business model is under increasing pressure as artificial intelligence reshapes how hotels are discovered, priced, and booked. While wholesalers still generate meaningful transaction volumes, their overall share of hotel bookings remains relatively small compared with OTAs and direct channels. AI-driven booking agents, API-based connectivity, and platform consolidation are accelerating structural change across distribution. Long-term survival will depend on wholesalers’ ability to redefine their value beyond legacy intermediation.

Key takeaways

• Wholesalers’ limited market share: Hotel wholesalers account for only a small single-digit percentage of global online hotel booking revenue, making their strategic importance smaller than often assumed.
• AI-driven disruption: AI-powered booking tools and automated decision-making systems are reducing the need for traditional intermediaries and compressing distribution layers.
• Uneven relevance by market: Wholesalers remain more relevant in certain regions and segments, such as international inbound travel and complex package distribution, while being marginal in others.
• Technology evolution is necessary but insufficient: Although wholesalers have adopted APIs, dynamic pricing, and real-time inventory, these upgrades alone may not guarantee long-term competitiveness in an AI-first environment.
• Ongoing rate integrity risks: Rate leakage and lack of pricing transparency continue to create challenges for hotels working with wholesaler networks.
• Differentiation over scale: Future viability depends on offering specialised value, such as complex packaging, long-tail demand access, or infrastructure services, rather than competing head-on with large OTAs.
• Strategic repositioning required: To survive, wholesalers must evolve into technology-driven partners within the AI distribution ecosystem rather than relying on traditional resale models.

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