The Invisible Shortlist
Kurt Weinsheimer draws on 25 years in online travel to argue that the shift to AI-powered discovery is categorically different from every platform change that came before it. When a search returns five options instead of fifty, being sixth is the same as being invisible — and most hotels have no idea how they appear, or whether they appear at all, on the shortlists AI systems are already building.
Twenty-five years in online travel teaches you to spot a platform shift early. I've watched hotels scramble to master SEO, then metasearch, then OTA ranking, then paid social. Each time, the underlying game was the same: get seen. What's happening now is something different. The question hoteliers are losing sleep over isn't “how do we rank?” It's “how do we even make the list?”
Not long ago, a guest planning a trip would open a browser, search, scroll through a dozen tabs, and eventually land on a page where they could book. That journey still exists, but a growing share of travelers are skipping it entirely. They're typing a question into ChatGPT or Perplexity and getting back five options. Not fifty. Five. And those five feel like a recommendation rather than a list. The contest for hotel bookings is being decided earlier than ever, and in a layer most hoteliers haven't yet learned to compete in.
The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Technology Edition
The 2026 HOTEL Yearbook Technology Edition - AI Everywhere is fully geared towards AI and explores how hospitality technology is preparing for a decade of profound change. With a clear focus on practical impact rather than hype, this edition examines how intelligence is becoming embedded across the hotel technology stack and day-to-day workflows, reshaping operations, revenue, distribution, guest experience, and the back office.
The publication will feature 40 editorial articles by domain experts, combined with a catalog of AI Solution Snapshots, offering readers both strategic insight and a curated overview of AI products currently available to the market, as well as an AI Glossary - a glossary of the most commonly used AI-related terms in hospitality. It brings together a wide spectrum of contributors, including academics, startups, hotel brands, established solution providers, and industry insiders, offering evidence-led perspectives, real-world lessons, and actionable guidance on what hoteliers should prioritize now to stay competitive in an AI-driven future. The publication will launch at HITEC 2026, San Antonio.