Why conversational search changes the rules for hotel marketing and distribution
Jul 31, 2025
Google’s AI-driven search has transformed how travelers find hotels, replacing simple keyword queries with complex, conversational requests. Powered by the Gemini 2.5 model, this shift demands that hotels rethink their visibility strategies, focusing on becoming trusted sources for AI-driven recommendations rather than just ranking for keywords.
Key takeaways
- Conversational search replaces keywords: Travelers now ask detailed, multi-layered questions, signaling intent, preferences, and even emotional context.
- Google’s Gemini 2.5 model: The AI uses “query fan-out” to break down complex travel requests into multiple sub-queries for highly personalized results.
- AI overviews dominate travel search: These summaries now appear in 30% of travel queries, reshaping how potential guests first encounter hotel options.
- Shift to answer engine optimisation (AEO): Hotels must adapt content for machine-readability, ensuring AI systems can extract key information on amenities, pricing, and location.
- Direct bookings through AI agents: Google’s Project Mariner allows reservations directly from search, challenging OTA dominance and requiring hotels to integrate booking APIs.
- Personalization beyond demographics: AI considers behavior, context, and intent—differentiating business from leisure trips and tailoring recommendations accordingly.
- Urgency for action: Hotels that fail to optimize for AI risk becoming invisible in search, while those that adapt can gain a significant competitive edge.
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