AI in Travel

The Iran war disrupted a major global travel corridor, exposed the limits of AI-powered support during crisis moments, and reignited the long-running airline vs. OTA customer ownership battle as travelers…

After Covid exposed how brittle travel's customer service infrastructure was, the industry pitched AI as the fix. Now, with the Middle East chaos, much of the tech that was supposed to help vanished from the narrative.

Marriott highlighted two forces shaping the hotel industry right now - geopolitical volatility and a race to build AI tools that keep travelers inside its direct channels.

The travel industry’s most important ecosystem story may be Montreal, where aviation DNA, patient capital, and a single Expedia office accidentally created a $15 billion infrastructure layer that much of the industry now runs on.

Hilton’s new AI trip planning tool reflects how hotel groups are trying to stay visible while travelers increasingly use conversational prompts to plan and search trips.

Samhi Hotels' acquisition comes with a Marriott-led lifeline for Rare India, which has had to adapt significantly over two decades as experiential has grown in the region.

The entire incentive structure of the creator economy pushes toward exoticization over understanding, sensation over context.

OpenAI built the checkout tech but couldn't get users to actually buy. That's a reprieve for OTAs, and a reality check for anyone assuming AI commerce is inevitable.

J.P. Morgan is calling an inflection point for hotels: 2026 could be the first year AI investments lead to profits.

Travel companies are increasingly using AI to facilitate travelers’ booking experiences, but overuse could end up over-standardizing brands and, crucially, eroding human connection.