Consultants are flooding the market with a new pitch: “Pay us to optimize your hotel for AI, or you will become invisible.”
Before you buy expensive courses or panic-hire a guru, let’s separate the Basic Web Hygiene from the Marketing Hype.
1. The Interface vs. The Math (The TSP Reality): AI is an incredible semantic engine, but it is not a magician. Consultants imply AI will mathematically engineer the perfect itinerary for a user. It won’t. The Traveling Salesman Problem (calculating the perfect trip based on Flight x Hotel x Traffic x Budget) involves trillions of permutations.
The Reality: AI replaces the filter (“Has Pool”) with context (“A quiet pool for swimming”). But once the vibe is matched, the underlying availability and pricing logic is the same hard math as before.
2. The “OTA Data” Trap The Pitch: “If I don’t optimize, Expedia defines my brand.” The Truth: This is valid, but the solution isn’t magic. It’s Content Ownership.
OTAs homogenize your hotel. They turn your “hand-crafted artisan breakfast” into “Breakfast included.” If you want the AI to know your true “vibe,” you need rich, specific descriptions on your own site. If your website is generic, the AI will be generic.
3. The “Technical” Secret (That Isn’t a Secret): Some consultants love to throw around words like RAG, JSON-LD, and Knowledge Graph. They make it sound like rocket science.
The Translation: This is just modern SEO.
– “Knowledge Graph” = Is your business address and name correct on Google Maps?
– “JSON-LD” = Does your website code clearly list amenities (like “EV Charging”) so a robot can read it?
The Disconnect: Charging a premium for “AI Readiness” when they are often just applying the technical SEO standards your web agency likely should have implemented years ago.
4. Operations is still the Ultimate Signal: You can have the best Schema markup in the world, but if your operational reality sucks, the AI will eventually filter you out. A 9.0 review score is a stronger signal of trust than any hidden metadata tag.
5. The “Direct Booking” Mirage: Some consultants claim AI is a “secret weapon” to bypass OTAs.
The Reality: Follow the money. Google and OpenAI are data-hungry, but they are also revenue-hungry. OTAs pay massive licensing fees and billions in advertising. Why would an AI platform prioritize your direct link (earning them €0) over an OTA result backed by billions in ad spend? The game is weighted toward those who pay to play.
The Verdict? Don’t pay to “just teach the AI” about your hotel.
Fix your Website Data: Ensure your amenities are clearly listed in your site’s code (Schema).
Own your Story: Don’t let OTAs write your description. Be specific on your direct site.
Focus on the Guest: Operational excellence creates the sentiment that powers the recommendation.
“AI Optimization” is just a scary new name for “Doing your job well.”
#Hospitality #AI #RevenueManagement #HotelMarketing #DirectBooking
