This is a crucial discussion for anyone serious about the future of hospitality. The reality is clear: with advanced AI coming to the forefront, both the way guests engage with hotels online and the technology behind those interactions are fundamentally changing.

Let's ground this in facts. According to recent research like VertoDigital, AI search bots now source only about 25% of their responses from actual hotel websites. The bulk of the information is drawn from across the internet—aggregators, OTAs, public data, and proprietary third-party platforms. Meanwhile, the next step—agentic AI—allows digital agents to bypass the hotel site altogether, connecting directly to your PMS, CRS, channel manager, or OTA via APIs to access rates, inventory, and make bookings. This isn't speculation: major tech providers and distribution platforms are already moving in this direction.

So, does that mean hotel websites are about to become obsolete?  The answer is more nuanced. Yes, the traditional website—primarily used as an information repository and booking engine—is facing reduced relevance as these new AI channels become standard. If a hotel isn't onboard with this shift, their direct booking capabilities could be severely squeezed by OTAs and other third parties already ramping up their agentic integrations.

Yet let's not overstate the speed or completeness of this transition. Right now, industry adoption of fully open APIs and AI-ready infrastructure is uneven, especially among independent hotels. Plus, websites still play a vital role in brand-building, storytelling, trust, rich content, and guest engagement—areas where AI and APIs have definite limits for the foreseeable future. Regulatory demands, edge-case guest needs, and complex event bookings are also still best handled on owned digital platforms.

What's the takeaway? The question isn't simply "will websites be obsolete?" but "are we evolving both our websites and our operations to be AI-ready?". Now is exactly the time to get ahead:

• Audit your site content for clear, structured, machine-readable data (using schema.org and similar).
• Make sure your PMS, CRS, and channel partners are ready—or planning—to open up integrations for agentic AI.
• Rethink your digital strategy with an "agent-first" rather than just "mobile-first" mindset, so you remain relevant as machine-to-machine commerce becomes the default.

To sum up: hotel websites in their classic form are on track to lose much of their former importance, but that doesn't mean they have no role. The opportunity is to adapt: be the hotel that's AI-ready, not just online, and you'll have more agency in the new landscape.