How the travel titans are using AI
AI ASSISTANTS
How the travel titans are using AI
• Transformed its Bonvoy app into a full-service AI travel consultant
• The Bonvoy AI Assistant uses traveller loyalty profiles, including room preferences and dining habits, to suggest destinations and hotels
• A key innovation is“ Lux-scaping,” where the AI suggests luxury additions, such as a spa day, based on historical spending
• Marriott is deploying natural language search on its website and app in the first half of 2026 and has entered strategic partnerships with Google and OpenAI.
By grounding GPT-4 in proprietary first-party data, the platform avoids generic results. Rahul Todkar, Tripadvisor’ s Head of Data and AI, likens the marriage of rich content and personal preferences to“ magic”, aiming for highly personalised planning.
Redefining customer acquisition Rahul says:“ The goal is to make trip planning highly personalised by combining all the Tripadvisor content with OpenAI’ s advanced AI capabilities.”
74 April 2026