For more than twenty years, Marriott and Hilton warned investors about OTAs. This month, they added a new risk: AI.
In their latest annual filings, both brands flagged large language models like ChatGPT as potential new intermediaries that could divert bookings away from direct channels and increase distribution costs. No AI platform is charging commissions today, but we all see where this is heading.
Hilton warned that major tech platforms entering the booking business could push demand away from direct channels. Marriott said AI-powered intermediaries could disrupt how guests plan, book, and pay, potentially eroding brand loyalty and raising costs.
Meanwhile, Google says AI-mode searches are already three times longer and increasingly conversational. More follow-up questions. Fewer clicks. The booking tools are not fully live yet, but discovery is already shifting inside the AI interface.
OpenAI has also begun testing sponsored placements inside ChatGPT trip-planning conversations, allowing travel brands to advertise directly inside the chat before a guest ever reaches a website.
Looks like we have some new, and old but reimagined, gatekeepers. And as my good friend Tim Peter wrote in Digital Reset, gatekeepers are gonna gate.
We spent two decades negotiating with Expedia and Booking.
The next negotiation might be with a chatbot.
