Just when you thought it couldn’t get more crowded at the top of the funnel, Booking.com and Expedia have found a new way to wedge themselves into your guests’ search journey, inside ChatGPT.
Yep. ChatGPT now pulls live hotel rates, images, and availability directly from OTA inventories via official plug-ins. Ask something like “Show me hotels in Waikīkī next weekend,” and you’ll get real-time listings from Booking.com and Expedia, no browser needed. For now, the actual booking still happens on their platforms.
And it’s not just ChatGPT. Expedia also partnered with Perplexity AI and its new Comet browser, embedding trip planning and OneKey loyalty perks directly into the interface, including Silver status just for downloading. No logins, no switching tabs, just AI-driven discovery, loyalty integration, and frictionless booking in one place.
Results from a Recent ChatGPT Search.
So no, the OTAs aren’t getting disrupted. They’re getting promoted. Everyone assumed LLMs would break the old model. Instead, they’ve become the newest distribution layer, and the OTAs got there first.
Here’s the disintermediation dilemma. OTAs provide clean, structured data from centralized systems. Most hotels run on fragmented tech stacks (CRS, PMS, and IBE, etc), all speaking different dialects. ChatGPT can’t, and won’t, parse all that. But it can pull seamlessly from a few big players who’ve already built for machine readability.
If this feels like Google Hotel Ads déjà vu, you’re not wrong. The funnel is narrowing again, and the OTAs are racing to own the top of it, this time by getting embedded in the AI tools travelers are beginning to trust most.
Have you played with Comet yet? You no longer need an invitation and can download it here.
