Metasearch is shifting from price to inspiration — here’s what that means for hotels

As travel discovery shifts from price hunting to inspiration, hotels face a rare chance to get in early and shape demand

Key takeaways

• Metasearch is evolving beyond price: Skyscanner is repositioning itself from a transactional comparison tool to an inspiration-driven discovery platform.
• AI will power earlier-stage influence: The company plans to use LLMs and smarter content layers to guide travelers before they know when or where they want to go.
• Discovery beats discounting: Hotels that lean into storytelling, visuals, and thematic experiences will gain visibility before travelers reach the rate-comparison mindset.
• Data quality is becoming competitive: AI-powered discovery tools rely heavily on clean, structured hotel content — from photos to amenity data to room naming.
• Hoteliers must act now: Five concrete steps — from content upgrades to offers to direct booking UX — position hotels to win in the new inspiration economy.

Not just “cheapest flight and hotel,” but “show me something beautiful”

At Phocuswright 2025, Skyscanner CEO Bryan Batista said something that would have sounded radical five years ago: metasearch needs to inspire people.

In his on-stage conversation, he pushed back against the idea that Skyscanner is just a price-sorting engine. Yes, price transparency still matters. But the company’s next chapter — accelerated by AI, content partnerships, and new interfaces — is about meeting travelers long before they’re ready to compare fares or hotel rates.

Instead of waiting for users to arrive with fixed dates and destinations, Skyscanner wants to guide them from “I need a break” to “Here’s a place that fits the mood I didn’t know I was looking for.”

This is not just a UX play. It’s a shift in the economics of discovery — from transactional to emotional, from sorting to suggestion.

And for hotels? That shift is seismic.

Why hoteliers should care: inspiration is upstream of every booking channel

If Skyscanner becomes a place where travelers dream before they plan, hotels suddenly have an opportunity they rarely get on global platforms: to influence decisions before price enters the conversation.

Inspiration-driven interfaces reward experiences, atmospheres, views, stories, locality — the things hotels actually invest in but struggle to surface in metasearch’s traditionally price-centric layout.

Skyscanner highlighted growing traveler interest in “vibes,” scenic stays, unique retreat themes, and organic exploration — all areas where hotels can stand out. And as the company expands its non-flight verticals, including hotels, the timing lines up perfectly.

The platform will increasingly use AI to match a traveler’s mood or intention with experiences, not just room types. For hoteliers, the question becomes: Will your property look inspiring when the algorithm starts suggesting places rather than sorting prices?

The tech behind the shift: AI, richer content, and a more fluid search journey

Skyscanner’s redesign uses three core pillars that matter directly to hotels:

1. AI-powered discovery: Large language models and personalized recommendation layers help suggest destinations, stays, and experiences based on user intent — even messy, early-stage intent.
2. Visual-first exploration: Batista emphasized the importance of photography, emotional appeal, and “showing the traveler something they didn’t know they wanted.”
3. Broader planning tools: The company isn’t just selling flights — it’s selling the whole trip. Hotels are a crucial part of that pipeline.

Put simply: the metasearch funnel is being rebuilt to start earlier and feel more human. And hotels need to prepare.

How hotels can win in the inspiration era

Here's a five-step action plan for the next evolution of metasearch:

1. Upgrade your visual storytelling — this is the new first impression

In an inspiration-first feed, your photo gallery is the sales pitch. Invest in natural-light room photos, lifestyle imagery, and scenes that express atmosphere: morning light in the breakfast room, a quiet reading corner, a view from a balcony — human, simple, real. These images perform exceptionally well in inspiration engines because they communicate feeling, not price.

2. Build experience-based offers, not just rooms and rates

If Skyscanner’s discovery tools highlight themes — “mountain calm,” “creative city weekends,” “wellness escapes” — hotels need packages that speak to those moods. A two-night photography retreat. A sunrise breakfast stay. A slow-living weekend with local walks. These aren’t promotions. They’re narratives — and narratives convert early intent.

3. Clean up your data: AI systems elevate what they can understand

LLM-driven discovery relies on structured, consistent, complete content. That means:

• Clean room names (no internal codes)
• Accurate amenities
• Updated policies
• High-resolution photos
• Clear descriptions In the AI era, data hygiene is not housekeeping — it’s distribution strategy.

4. Publish local, low-friction inspiration content

Skyscanner’s shift means travelers will increasingly enter through “Where should I go?” queries.

Hotels that publish short, helpful local guides — “A perfect afternoon in the old town,” “Three winter walks from the hotel,” “How to spend 48 hours in our city” — will be pulled into inspiration layers and AI summaries.

Hotels without content simply won’t appear.

5. Make your direct booking flow capable of capturing inspired travelers

If travelers arrive emotionally ready and curious, your booking engine must not break the spell. This means:

• Fewer checkout steps
• Clear room descriptions with photos
• Transparent inclusions
• Mobile-first UX
• Gentle nudges (“This room has the view you saw earlier”) The story must carry through — all the way to the payment page.

The bottom line: inspiration is upstream of everything — including revenue

Skyscanner’s evolution signals a broader industry shift: the fight for traveler attention is moving earlier, becoming more emotional, more visual, and more AI-mediated.

Hotels that prepare now — with better content, better experiences, better data, and better direct funnels — will be positioned not only to win new visibility, but to shape demand before price even enters the frame.

In the new discovery landscape, the hotel that inspires will beat the hotel that discounts.

by Markus Busch, Editor Hospitality.today

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