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 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

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

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

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

Chains tell investors AI will book with them. The fine print says maybe not. - Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt each wrote AI into their annual reports as a risk to booking direct. On their earnings calls, the same companies call it an advantage..

Oct 5, 2026 • Hospitality

The bill lands on the independent - Every new way to sell a room is paid for by the hotel. The brands are finding their way out. The independent pays alone..

Oct 5, 2026 • Hospitality

Thirteen words on Reddit can steer an AI answer. Google now calls that spam. - A 12-word Reddit comment about a restaurant that doesn't exist was enough to get AI to recommend it. Google's spam rules now cover the trick, and Reddit checks new accounts for it from day one..

Oct 5, 2026 • Hospitality