Hotels Adapt to AI Models as Travelers Shift to Plain-Speech Searches

As travelers increasingly adopt artificial intelligence to help plan their vacations, hotels are actively working to ensure they are visible to these new systems. According to reports, the goal for these hospitality businesses is to make sure that prospective guests check them out and ultimately check in. This shift is driven by the growing popularity of AI tools among consumers looking for personalized travel recommendations.^[1][2]

Whether travelers are using ChatGPT or specialized AI-enabled travel websites such as Layla.ai, the way people search for accommodations is changing. It is already possible for users to pose highly specific search queries using plain speech, such as asking for a calm hotel with a west-facing balcony or a charming hotel with a spa that accepts dogs.^[1]

This transition to plain speech searches represents a significant shift from traditional search engine methods. However, this simple switch to natural language queries belies major technical changes behind the scenes. As a result, hotels must now adapt and learn how to make their properties and services visible to AI models conducting these travel searches.^[1]