Arlen Ritchie

💻 Hoteliers dream of AI agents bypassing OTAs for direct bookings, saving on commissions. Pablo Delgado Díaz-Pache discusses potential challenges and solutions. The focus is on suppliers' systems facilitating AI bookings, requiring seamless integration with hotel CRSs and aligning incentives for both suppliers and travelers. The technical challenges are surmountable, but incentives must be established to encourage choosing direct channels over OTAs for AI-driven bookings to become more transactional than merely informative.

🛒 Shopify's new AI shopping tools, announced by CEO Tobias Lütke, enable seamless commerce integration. Released tools include Checkout Kit, Shopify Catalog, and Universal Cart. Checkout Kit is utilized by Microsoft's Copilot. These tools allow AI agents to offer embedded commerce experiences with global product search and a universal shopping cart. Such advancements, based on MCP and MCP-UI protocols, aim to simplify booking processes for travel aggregators and enhance direct channel representation, potentially reshaping the online booking market.

📈 Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) focus on user acquisition and retention, crucial to compete in the AI era. Expedia and Booking spend about 50% and 30% of their revenue on sales and marketing, respectively. A trend towards direct bookings is observed, potentially amplified by AI technology aiding the process.