Destination AI 2026: Hilton Tech Exec Says AI Threatens OTAs
Hilton CIO Michael Leidinger stated at Destination AI that AI agents and LLMs are weakening online travel agencies' grip on shoppers.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Hilton CIO Michael Leidinger says large language models pose a real threat to OTAs.
- AI allows travelers to build itineraries via chatbots instead of using traditional OTAs.
- Hilton expects a rise in direct bookings through its official website and mobile app.
- Personal agents may charge commissions, but hotels gain a new direct channel opportunity.
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence is shaking up the travel industry, with top technology executives from major hotel chains arguing that AI tools are achieving what years of advertising campaigns could not: loosening the grip of online travel agencies on hotel shoppers.
Michael Leidinger, Hilton Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, spoke at the Destination AI conference in Washington, D.C., noting that ChatGPT and other large language models have placed OTAs under genuine threat for the first time. He explained that while OTAs previously built their dominance by aggregating a highly fragmented market, travelers can now simply input their requirements into a chatbot to generate a functional itinerary.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Although personal AI agents will likely introduce commission fees of their own—with Meta already indicating plans to charge for transactions via its Muse agent—Hilton believes this shift ultimately benefits hotel brands by driving more direct bookings directly to their proprietary websites and mobile applications.
The rise of agentic AI in travel planning highlights a fundamental shift in consumer behavior toward automated comparison and decision-making, bypassing traditional booking platforms. Hilton's perspective illustrates how hoteliers are adapting to bypass middlemen, though they must also prepare for rising infrastructure costs driven by automated agents continuously re-shopping rates on behalf of travelers.
This technological shift also brings operational challenges for hotels, as AI agents will continuously re-shop rates and handle cancellations until the departure date whenever a better deal appears. This trend aligns with a joint study by McKinsey and Skift Research involving 1,000 U.S. travelers, which found that half of the respondents had previously modified a confirmed accommodation after discovering a superior option.
Meanwhile, Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel previously noted at the Skift Global Forum that replicating agents like Instinct is straightforward, whereas establishing consumer trust remains the true hurdle. On the other hand, Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta is betting heavily on corporate scale, leveraging the company's 25% share of quality U.S. supply to negotiate effectively with whichever AI agent ultimately dominates the market.
Source: Skift
Found something wrong in this article? Report an issue with this article
Comments
Leave a Comment