Welcome to The Direct Booking Digest—your essential update for hotel marketers.
This week's edition highlighted a rapidly changing hospitality landscape, from OpenAI's vision for a future where AI handles travel planning through voice and video, to mixed signals in the corporate travel market. Plus, delve into Expedia's focus on international markets, and new opportunities for direct bookings ahead of major retail events like Black Friday and Travel Tuesday.
OpenAI chairman shares vision on travel’s AI future
At the Skift Global Forum, OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor shared how AI is moving far beyond text. Soon, travelers will plan trips through voice, video, and rich multimedia conversations with AI. For hoteliers, that means guests will expect more seamless, personalized experiences across every touchpoint—making it more important than ever to future-proof by personalizing your own guest experiences.
Explore OpenAI’s vision for travel and AI
Beyond sales: A unified marketing strategy for hotel success
Hotels are finding smart ways to reach potential guests already in-market. One example: Raines used geo-targeted ads to drive direct walk-ins to specific properties, bypassing OTAs. The article calls for more campaigns that combine revenue insights with emotional storytelling to convert interest into bookings.
Learn how hotels can unify sales and marketing strategy
Deloitte: Mixed signals for future of corporate travel
Deloitte’s new corporate travel survey highlights mixed signals for corporate travel: budgets are rising, but companies remain cautious and frequent travelers expect to fly less. For hotels, this means corporate demand may not be a given—success will hinge on attracting occasional travelers and adapting to shifting priorities. Hotels banking on business travelers should focus on flexible corporate packages, value-added perks, and partnerships that may encourage more regular bookings.
See Deloitte’s take on the future of corporate travel
Winning Black Friday: How to turn demand into direct booking
Black Friday weekend is more than a retail event. It’s become a time when people actively search for and buy all kinds of things because they know they might get a bargain. And the impact on hotels is growing, with an extra day - ‘Travel Tuesday’ - increasing in popularity. But how can you capitalize on the Black Friday opportunity when all of your competitors are trying to do the same?
In our recent webinar, Triptease staff designer Chimmy Kalu and marketing expert (and co-founder of "Market Movers") Sarah Stahl explore how hoteliers can win the battle for Black Friday. They covered real-world examples of how hotels use personalization to drive more Black Friday bookings, and how you can increase revenue by targeting more valuable guests.
Register now for the Black Friday bookings webinar
Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin Bets on Global Markets as US Travel Demand Slows
With U.S. travel demand softening, Expedia (along with other huge travel players) is shifting focus toward high-growth international markets like Japan, Brazil, and Northern Europe to drive future growth.
Read how Expedia is shifting its focus globally
AI agents will be ‘gatekeepers of loyalty’ in hospitality: study
The rise of AI-powered agents could shift guest loyalty away from hotel brands and toward algorithms, researchers at Florida Atlantic University warn.
See why AI agents could reshape loyalty in hospitality
What if hospitality saved jobs? Even if only partially!
With automation and cost-cutting threatening service roles, this commentary explores how hotels can embrace new models that preserve employment, retrain staff, and enhance the guest experience simultaneously. The industry has a chance to prove that innovation doesn’t always have to come at the expense of people.
Why hospitality might become one of the last "real" professions
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Genevieve is a product marketing manager at Triptease.
