Expedia wants to turn travel inspiration into bookings - Expanded partnerships with Meta, TikTok and Uber show how online travel agencies are trying to stay visible as AI, social discovery and agentic booking reshape how travelers plan trips..

May 20, 2026 • Hospitality

Marriott's soft brands are a distribution strategy, not a brand strategy - How Autograph, Tribute, Design Hotels, and the rest of the portfolio quietly shift the economics of independent positioning — and what that means for distribution leverage..

May 20, 2026 • Hospitality

Expedia shifts from all-in-one AI chatbots to specialized travel agents - The company’s evolving AI strategy highlights a broader industry realization: travelers may prefer focused AI assistance over fully autonomous trip-planning experiences.

May 20, 2026 • Hospitality

Google moves hotel bookings into the agentic commerce era - Google’s latest AI commerce push signals that hotel booking may soon happen directly inside conversational search and AI agents.

May 20, 2026 • Hospitality

Uber questions whether AI is actually improving travel - Growing skepticism around AI in mobility signals a broader shift from hype to measurable traveler value.

May 20, 2026 • Hospitality

Google prepares travel’s next platform shift - Agentic booking could keep OTAs at the center of the travel funnel — while changing how travelers discover and reserve hotels.

May 19, 2026 • Hospitality

Borrowed trust. - AI lends hotels trust consumers haven't extended to travel. Where it comes from, what it's worth, and what hotels owe in return..

May 19, 2026 • Hospitality

ChatGPT is now officially becoming an advertising platform - OpenAI’s new tracking policy signals that AI assistants are evolving into media, discovery, and customer acquisition channels.

May 19, 2026 • Hospitality