The future of hotel distribution is not a mystery. It will either be owned by OTAs or owned by protocols. The choices hotel operators make today—from every global brand to independent inns and three-room B&Bs—will determine whether their businesses thrive or vanish.
Last week I asked ChatGPT and Gemini to provide hotel recommendations in Orlando. Results were as expected . . . coming from the OTAs and Google Travel . . . that was it. These intermediaries control visibility. Why? Because they were first to support global real-time availability, rates, and inventory (ARI) capabilities, optimize the funnels, and capture the guest journey.
The hotel industry must adapt to the rise of generative AI technology. Keep procrastinating and watch out. AI-native hotel distribution is coming. If you aren’t ready, there won’t be time to brace for impact; rather, prepare for wipe out.
Once Model Context Protocol (MCP) is fully opened by the gatekeepers, every type of lodging provider will be able to compete for surface share directly alongside Expedia and Booking.com. That’s the promise of Agentic Hotel Distribution. It offers more choice for travelers. More direct revenue for hotels. And more total control for the travel industry.
Distribution is no longer about scale. It’s about structured, machine-readable infrastructure.
Why Infrastructure Matters in Agentic Hotel Distribution
AI is not a plugin; it’s infrastructure. AI agents don’t “see” hotels unless the data is structured. The OTAs invested early in making their ARI feeds machine readable. That’s why—when AI agents answer—OTAs show up and hotels don’t.
This isn’t a UI problem. It’s an infrastructure problem.
Harman Singh Narula, co-founder of Canary Technologies, has already shown the industry how AI can lift revenue through up-sell and engagement. The next battlefield is distribution itself. Europe is leading the way. Its Digital Markets Act (DMA) forced Google and Booking to open access. Lodging schema APIs are evolving. OTA preference is fading.
The U.S. will follow—whether by regulation or competition. In his column, “Definitely Doug: The Path to Personalization,” Doug Rice reminds us that that identity and personalization belong to the guest, not the platform. Distribution is no different: ARI and loyalty logic must travel with the guest, not remain locked inside an OTA.
A Strategic Call to Action
For hotels, suppliers, and providers, the path forward is clear. Become MCP-ready with structured ARI. Publish loyalty logic as portable data. And control orchestration, don’t delegate it.
Anil Aggarwal, CEO of Milestone and widely known for his thought leadership in hospitality marketing, noted in HSMAI’s annual conference that “the marketing funnel is collapsing into one conversation.” He warned hoteliers about the threat posed by OTAs, saying the traditional, multi-step marketing funnel is being replaced by a single, real-time conversation with a consumer powered by AI. They need to make their content, loyalty logic, and booking flows machine readable so they show up in AI-driven conversations. He cited generative AI as a key technology that will consolidate the travel planning and booking process.
Not only was he right, but Anil urged hoteliers to recognize this fundamental shift and invest in the technology and strategy needed to maintain a direct relationship with their guests. Companies are building protocols and infrastructure to make sure hotels do show up. But this is not just about hotels. The future of travel distribution will be powered by an ecosystem:
Throwing a Lifeline at Destination AI
This month at the Destination AI – Hospitality Summit, those leading the way in AI-powered hospitality and building the necessary protocols and infrastructure for hotels will discuss Agentic Hotel Distribution in detail and explain why the infrastructure-first initiative was developed and how hotels can remain visible, competitive, and profitable in the AI-native era of travel distribution.
Those interested in learning more about this pressing topic and its three key principles: MCP (Model Context Protocol) Readiness, Portable Loyalty and Identity, and Orchestration Control, should click here to register.
The travel industry is being refined by AI. Are you ready to ride the AI wave or will you be “rag-dolled?”
About Agentic Hospitality
Agentic Hospitality is an infrastructure-level AI Cloud platform dedicated to empowering hotels and resorts to reclaim the guest journey, enabling direct bookings through AI-native channels, and drive profitable revenue growth. Developed in collaboration with Brewer Digital and deployed across Google Cloud and Vertex AI, Agentic Hospitality transforms guest interactions into rich intent based signals, and loyalty-enhancing orchestration in real time. Inspired by 12 years of architecting modern commerce platforms for Travel + Leisure Co., G6 Hospitality, RLHC, La Quinta, Red Roof, Drury Hotels, Margaritaville Resorts, and Sports Illustrated Resorts. Scalable across independent hotels, resort groups, and enterprise hospitality brands, Agentic Hospitality redefines the future of frictionless, AI-driven hospitality. The company is powered by a best-in-class ecosystem of technology partners, each chosen for their leadership in AI, automation, data orchestration, and hospitality infrastructure. Players include: Google Cloud (Infrastructure layer, Vertex AI, Vertex Model Garden, Identify Management, and native OpenAI API compatibility); Brewer Digital Marketing (Full-stack platform integration, including Schema Adapter, TravelOS Model Context Protocol (MCP), and Booking Engine Adapter); Amadeus (CRS); Okta, Auth0 (SSO); Salesforce, Snowflake (CRM); Cloudbeds, Infor, Oracle Hospitality, Maestro PMS; PayPal, Braintree (Payments); Quantum Metric (Session replay, Felix AI generative summaries, and behavioral analytics); Ad agencies (Dynamic CRM-based personalization and paid media optimization); and Little Buddy Agency (Automation meets creativity using human–AI hybrid tools to craft smarter, more engaging brand experiences). Visit Agentic Hospitality.
Barb Worcester
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Agentic Hospitality
