2026 Archives

The companies that will matter are those with proprietary data, not ChatGPT wrappers.

"High touch" used to come from a concierge or customer service agent. Today, it can stem from technology, so long as it gives the customer "what they want at that moment when they need it."

The customer is technically in charge of booking decisions, but social media and AI systems are increasingly making the decisions for them.

For Uber, this is bait to drive more sign-ups to its paid subscription service. For Expedia, it's an incremental channel. For hoteliers, another distribution tax of sorts.

For Asian travelers, the booking decision increasingly starts on social media — the platform just takes the order.

Chinese brands can't copy and paste their strategies to compete in international markets.

Years of acquisitions left Minor Hotels with a fragmented technology stack that limited personalization across the guest journey.

The Iran war disrupted travel across key corridors, but it also exposed a larger shift already underway. Asia increasingly brings together the demand growth, traveler demographics, value, and digital behavior shaping the industry’s next decade. Many strategies are still built around the demand patterns of the previous one.

Morgenshtern makes the case that the AI conversation in travel has moved past the question most of the industry is still asking.

You can be sure that Agoda is far ahead of 95% of the travel industry in reimagining its business using multiple AI agents from the ground up. But will it be enough if some of the LLMs crack travel booking?