As generative AI shifts from a search novelty to a functional booking engine, the hospitality industry is facing a critical pivot.
Sam Hon, CEO of CREX, an AI visibility scanner for hotels, stated that travel planning AI adoption rose globally from 22 per cent in 2023 to 48 per cent in 2025, with 78 per cent projected for 2026. Currently, 60 per cent of AI users are using the technology for travel bookings.
Hon said AI should be treated as an emerging distribution channel, comparable to an OTA or wholesaler.
Speed is becoming critical, as AI models refresh roughly every 10 days. Properties that require too much effort to be discovered are often bypassed in favour of more accessible data sets. Traditional SEO keyword matching is proving ineffective, as AI prioritises semantic meaning over keywords.
“SEO doesn’t work very well with AI, because AI looks into semantic meanings – meanings of words, paragraphs or even long conversations; it does not do keyword matching,” Hon noted.
Data consistency is another challenge. AI reasoning models cross-reference a hotel’s declared information against multiple digital touchpoints. Discrepancies between websites and social media profiles, or even images such as lobby posters, can result in lower discovery scores.
Hon also warned of “GEO poisoning”, where external bloggers or third parties shape a hotel’s brand identity if the property fails to manage its own narrative.
Looking ahead, AI wallets and hyper-personalisation will automate the conversion process. The goal is visibility during early planning to bypass intermediaries and drive direct bookings.
“AI wallets are coming soon, and the traveller will be comfortable doing everything within AI. The first step is you must be visible; you must be in the list. Only then does the commerce and the checkout process come in,” Hon said.
