Opinion

New Data Shows How Travelers Are Using AI to Plan and Book Trips, And It’s Not What You Think

The travel industry has spent years trading opinions about what AI will do to planning and booking. No more hypotheticals. New research by TakeUp, The Rise of AI Planned Travel in 2026, based on a survey of 300 US leisure travelers, shows the shift ...

Bobby Marhamat
Bobby Marhamat
CEO at TakeUp
TakeUp
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Bobby Marhamat
by Bobby Marhamat
20 January 2026TakeUpSearch Marketing
TakeUp
Opinion

Optimise Your Hotel Website in 8 Easy Steps - FREE Checklist

As a hotelier, you know that first impressions matter. And in 2026, your website is your virtual front desk. But is it doing enough to convert visitors into paying guests? If your website isn’t optimised for speed, ease of use, and direct bookings, ...

Savina Karaivanova
Savina Karaivanova
Marketing & Product Strategist
Userguest
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Savina Karaivanova
by Savina Karaivanova
20 January 2026UserguestSearch Marketing
Userguest
Opinion

Is your hotel visible in ChatGPT search? A quick guide to help you compete with OTAs for AI planned trips

For over two decades, the battleground for hotel bookings has been defined by a struggle for control, with hotels on one side and Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) on the other.

Jonathan Gough
Jonathan Gough
Content Team Lead at Lighthouse
Lighthouse
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Jonathan Gough
by Jonathan Gough
14 January 2026LighthouseSearch Marketing
Lighthouse
Opinion

How AI-Driven Search, Connected Media, and Real-Time Intelligence Will Drive Direct Bookings in 2026

The hospitality customer journey has become more fragmented and compressed than ever before. Travelers now move fluidly between search engines, AI-powered answers, metasearch platforms, social channels, video, and review sites before making a bookin...

Dhannesh Balaji
Dhannesh Balaji
Solutions Architect
Milestone Inc.
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Dhannesh Balaji
by Dhannesh Balaji
12 January 2026Milestone Inc.Search Marketing
Milestone Inc.
Supplier News

The Rise of Agentic AI in Hospitality: Moving From Search to Action

The digital landscape of travel is shifting beneath our feet. For the past two decades, the battleground for hotel bookings has been the search engine results page. Hoteliers have spent countless hours and significant budgets optimizing for keywords...

Shiji Group
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The Rise of Agentic AI in Hospitality: Moving From Search to Action17 December 2025ShijiSearch Marketing
The Rise of Agentic AI in Hospitality: Moving From Search to Action
External

Agentic AI for travel heats up as Google preps booking tools

Google is preparing to introduce agentic AI tools that can actually book hotels and flights directly within its AI Mode search experience, moving beyond simple trip inspiration and information. Working closely with major hotel and OTA partners like ...

travelweekly.com
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Online Travel Agencies (OTA)
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Agentic AI for travel heats up as Google preps booking tools 3 December 2025travelweekly.comSearch Marketing
Agentic AI for travel heats up as Google preps booking tools
The 2026 Hotel Marketing Playbook: Trust-led Multichannel Growth (TMG)
Opinion

The 2026 Hotel Marketing Playbook: Trust-led Multichannel Growth (TMG)

In 2026, here’s the ultimate digital marketing playbook that I think hotels should adopt: The Trust-led Multichannel Growth (TMG) approach.

Chris Zhao
Chris Zhao
Senior Product Manager - SEM/SEO
Travel Media Group
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Chris Zhao
by Chris Zhao
1 December 2025Travel Media GroupSearch Marketing
The 2026 Hotel Marketing Playbook: Trust-led Multichannel Growth (TMG)
Opinion

De-Googlize Your Company

What company doesn’t want to rank high in Google searches? When a customer is looking for whatever you sell, wouldn’t you want to be ranked at the top of the first page? Unless you’re willing to pay and advertise, you have to naturally get there, an...

Shep Hyken
Shep Hyken
Customer Service and Experience Expert, Keynote Speaker and Bestselling Author
Shepard Presentations, LLC.
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CRM & Loyalty
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Shep Hyken
by Shep Hyken
26 November 2025Shepard Presentations, LLC.Search Marketing
Shepard Presentations, LLC.