Long Lake Management will acquire American Express Global Business Travel for approximately $6.3 billion in an all-cash deal, valuing shares at $9.50 each. Expected to close in H2, making Amex GBT private again. Long Lake's AI capabilities will drive corporate travel transformation.
As AI transforms travel discovery, destination marketing organizations (DMOs) are shifting from marketing entities to structured travel providers. SimpleView and Granicus analysis shows ChatGPT made nearly two million requests to DMO sites in eight days. DMOs need to optimize website schema, create unique content, and explore a 'destination-as-a-service' model, providing verified destination data via API or MCP.
This week's travel tech news briefs cover multiple partnerships and product launches: Klook partners with Korail for real-time rail booking in South Korea; Spotnana integrates with Air Canada via NDC, enabling Flight Pass credits; Wizz Air teams with Hopper for disruption assistance; Roomex launches Best Rates Display comparison tool; 12Go launches ChatGPT app; Kayak introduces Ask AI; Fareportal launches Enterprise Solutions; Duffel launches Duffel Cars; WEX partners with Extend for virtual cards in Concur Invoice.
Hyatt shared its AI roadmap during Q1 2026 earnings call, focusing on distribution and efficiency. CEO Mark Hoplamazian highlighted new capabilities for ALG Vacations and white-label potential. Hyatt has deployed ChatGPT Enterprise internally, emphasizing productivity gains and resource redeployment. Q1 net income was $38 million, adjusted EBITDA $266 million.
DirectBooker, an aggregator connecting hotels to AI assistants, has announced supply agreements with five hotel chains including BWH Hotels and Radisson Hotel Group, and launched an app in ChatGPT and a connector in Claude. Founded by former Tripadvisor and Google Travel executives, the company uses model context protocol (MCP) to deliver real-time availability and rates to AI platforms. DirectBooker aims to help hotels capture direct bookings in AI-driven search, reducing reliance on OTAs.
Uber has expanded into hotel bookings via a partnership with Expedia Group, offering over 700,000 hotels globally. Uber One members receive at least 20% discounts and 10% back in Uber Credits. Uber also introduced AI-powered voice booking, travel recommendations, and plans to add vacation rentals via Vrbo later this year. This move is part of Uber's super app strategy.
Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta said the company plans to open its app to more large language models, including Gemini and OpenAI, in the coming weeks. Despite rapid AI developments, he doesn't see the distribution landscape changing significantly anytime soon. Hilton will use AI to become more efficient and continue building direct business, which already accounts for over 80% of its business.
Booking Holdings is positioning its AI efforts as a moat against general AI models, with early testing showing lifts in conversion and reduced customer service interactions. CEO Glenn Fogel shared progress on AI initiatives across Priceline's Penny, Booking.com's search and self-service, and Agoda's efficiency. The company reported strong Q1 results, though Middle East conflict impacted growth.
Clarasight, a data management specialist for corporate travel, has secured $11.5 million in a Series A round led by AlleyCorp. The funding will support product development and expansion across North America and Europe. The platform integrates data from TMCs, expense tools, card programs, and HR systems into an AI-ready model, replacing manual processes and catching out-of-policy spend.
AirAsia MOVE CEO Nadia Omer spoke at Travel Tech Thursdays Kuala Lumpur, stating that travel desire in Southeast Asia is strong but the product hasn't caught up. She noted Gen Z is more experience-oriented, and the industry needs creative product thinking to convert aspiration into booking. She believes AI agents can't access social content like TikTok, and organic content is key to building trust.
This week's travel tech news includes: Virgin Atlantic and Rome2Rio launch ChatGPT apps; Civitatis appoints CFO; Travelport extends partnership with Webjet through 2029; Adalte partners with Repayd for payments; Talma partners with Spotnana; Journey names head of AI and data; Navan hires senior director; Guesty launches AI tools; GetYourGuide adds supplier tools; ATPCO Routehappy integrations expand; Air Europa introduces GDS surcharge and expands NDC; Eviivo launches smart lock module; Profitroom expands UK team; Braze introduces AI marketing agents.
At the Short Stay Summit in London, Casago CEO Steve Schwab and Forge Holiday Group CEO Graham Donoghue discussed the costs and value of AI in the short-term rental industry. Forge spends $30,000-$50,000 monthly on Anthropic tokens and is considering a token optimizer role. Schwab predicts a 'token economy' and warns of rising compute costs. Despite expenses, both see value: Forge's Vivid Stay tool converts static images to video in 25 minutes, previously costing $2,000-$3,000. They also shared failures, including conversational search not gaining traction and employee resistance to change.
eDreams ODIGEO announced AI updates including a proprietary AI trip planner and a ChatGPT app. The planner, integrated into mobile apps, uses natural language in English to generate day-by-day itineraries and allows booking directly. The ChatGPT app enables conversational flight search, redirecting users to eDreams for purchase. Additionally, the company scaled its agentic voice AI to handle 90% of inquiries in five languages, reducing transfers by 33% and improving resolution velocity by 15%.
Hyatt Hotels has deployed ChatGPT Enterprise as it continues to work with OpenAI. Employees across finance, marketing and operations can access the AI platform to improve customer experience. During its Q4 2025 earnings call, Hyatt said it had been working on AI enablement for two years and identified use cases with four already executed as large-scale agentic platforms. CEO Mark Hoplamazian noted that natural language search is growing in popularity, and hyatt.com's intent-based search has led to higher conversions, higher revenues per booking, and longer length of stay.
The Iran war has caused oil price volatility and demand shifts, challenging airline pricing. AI pricing models are popular but cannot predict war outcomes. Fuel costs account for 20-30% of airline expenses, a key fare driver. Experts emphasize live data during uncertainty.
Expedia Group's AI Trust Gap study found that only 8% of consumers rely on AI chatbots for trip planning, compared to 59% using search engines. Phocuswright research shows 39% of U.S. travelers use AI for travel research and planning, while search engine usage dropped from 51% in late 2024 to 36% in H2 2025. The survey found 53% are comfortable with AI suggesting options, but 66% don't trust AI to book for them, and 57% worry about loss of control and data/payment privacy.
AI is reshaping luxury travel, but primarily behind the scenes, enhancing human expertise rather than replacing it. Industry leaders say AI improves efficiency and personalization, but the most successful applications remain invisible to travelers. Phocuswright research defines luxury travelers as 'indulgent explorers' seeking exclusivity, with 47% preferring non-mainstream experiences. Arrivia research shows about 35% of luxury travelers are 'aspiring luxury' with net worth between $100k and $1M.
At a WiT Africa panel, industry leaders predicted significant growth in Africa's online travel share, but emphasized trust as key. Meili's CEO predicted over 80%, Visa's Platt over 70%, while WakaNow's Adedeji differentiated between sophisticated markets (80-90%) and broader Africa (50-60%). Global travel bookings totaled $1.93 trillion last year, projected to reach $2.14 trillion by 2027, with online share rising from 63% to 67%.
Hong Kong-based startup Roameo offers an AI-powered travel planning platform with a 'swipe-to-match' interface, integrating discovery, group coordination, and itinerary building. The platform gamifies group planning and captures high-intent behavioral insights for partners. Monetization includes B2C and B2B models: transaction revenue, freemium, and enterprise SaaS.
Saudi Arabia-based Almosafer has launched a ChatGPT app offering AI-powered conversational travel planning. Travelers can access the OTA's inventory of over 1.5 million hotels, with the app supporting Arabic and English, allowing users to search properties, receive personalized recommendations, and build itineraries. The CEO says the move aims to simplify travel through innovation.
This week's travel tech news includes: Loveholidays names Sarah Helppi VP of land; eDreams expands Prime in South Africa; Key Data appoints Dustin Downing as president; Lumo partners with BizTrip AI; Smartvel launches TravelAble; Nuitée partners with Globe Thrivers; Track completes Expedia Group integration; Dida partners with Tsinghua x-lab; Traveloris AI booking engine goes live; Navan launches audit engine; TProfile partners with Nomupay; HI USA selects Cloudbeds; NextTrip partners with QSTAK; Repayd appoints Erik Crouch.
Grab launched 13 AI experiences at its annual product showcase GrabX, with four focused on travel. These include 'Personalized Travel Experience,' hotel booking service GrabStays in partnership with Nuitée, culinary guide 'Discovered by Grab,' and GrabPay for Travel allowing payments with home-issued cards. Grab also partnered with WeRide to bring AV taxis to Singapore.
AI booking faces a trust gap that is both technical and behavioral. OpenAI's Instant Checkout conversions in ChatGPT were three times worse than on Walmart's website, indicating consumer reluctance. Experts say trust doesn't transfer automatically, requiring technological safeguards and behavioral shifts. Payment protocols like ACP and shared payment tokens are emerging, but human authorization remains key.
TPConnects Technologies has developed a Model Context Protocol (MCP) layer for its Iris platform to enable interaction between content and AI agents. Iris provides access to NDC, LCC, and GDS content from a single source. The MCP layer makes content machine-readable for AI agents.
Mirai launched AI infrastructure enabling hotel bookings through natural language interactions. The platform supports chat, email, WhatsApp, phone, and AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, with payments handled within the system. Mirai redesigned its infrastructure to connect via MCP, making hotels discoverable, understandable, and bookable by machines.
FCM built its own AI platform, Mosaic, using Anthropic's LLM, with guardrails and skills playbooks to control AI outputs for enterprise clients. Its AI assistant Sam is in use, and the company emphasizes AI as a capability rather than a separate roadmap.
Almosafer, Saudi Arabia's leading travel company, has launched on the ChatGPT platform, becoming the first Saudi app to offer consumer services through OpenAI's global AI interface. Users can access over 1.5 million hotels via Arabic or English dialogue, receive personalized recommendations, and build multi-city itineraries. This move transforms travel planning from manual search to natural conversation, supporting Saudi Vision 2030's digital transformation.
Kayak's new CEO Peer Bueller and CPO Matthias Keller discuss AI transformation. Kayak AI usage is still single-digit, but users are more likely to search without a destination. They emphasize that agentic booking is more likely in corporate travel, while leisure will take time.
Phocuswright report highlights Chinese OTAs like Trip.com and Fliggy using AI tools (TripGenie, AskMe) for global expansion. The 2026 Spring Festival kicked off agentic mobile commerce; Chinese OTAs customize open-source LLMs like DeepSeek for seamless conversational booking and plan to export mobile-first ecosystems to Asia Pacific and beyond.
AI is reshaping digital advertising, pushing travel brands toward commerce media to leverage first-party data. Uber's ad revenue hit $2 billion, Expedia's display ad revenue grew. McKinsey predicts 21% CAGR for commerce media networks. Brands like Marriott and United are investing.
Acai Travel has partnered with Lumo to integrate predictive disruption technology into its AI service platform. The integration helps travel companies identify at-risk trips earlier and manage delays and cancellations efficiently. It ranks cases by risk, surfaces rebooking options, and can initiate outreach before travelers contact support.
At Phocuswright's Travel Marketing AI Summit, executives discussed AI's impact on marketing. Hopper CEO predicts Google search will disappear, while Booking.com says AI hasn't changed its strategy. 56% of US consumers use AI for travel planning; brands are optimizing GEO and AEO.
South Africa's online travel market was valued at $2.54 billion in 2024, projected to reach nearly $6 billion by 2033. 57% of Africa's tourism tech VC investment flowed into South Africa, over $3.1 billion between 2019-2024. Nearly half of South Africans use AI for travel planning, and two-thirds of hoteliers have an AI strategy.
A session at ITB Berlin addressed AI bias in travel. Professor Fevzi Okumus of the University of South Carolina noted that AI can disadvantage certain groups in recruitment, service recommendations, and business visibility, making it harder for smaller operators and independent providers to compete. He urged treating AI as an enabler rather than a replacement and proposed a framework to audit AI systems for transparency, fairness, and trustworthiness.
Fliggy, part of Alibaba Group, has launched 'flyai,' a developer-facing travel skill now live on ClawHub and GitHub. Built on Fliggy's Model Context Protocol (MCP) standard, it supports the full travel journey from inspiration to booking, spanning flights, hotels, attractions, ground transport, and more. Fliggy says the tool is plug-and-play, enabling developers to build applications including themed travel products and corporate travel management agents. It is being integrated into the skill stores of major Chinese smartphone manufacturers including Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Honor.
This week's travel tech briefs include: Savanta launches AI research platform Virtual Personas; Bilt adds Wyndham Rewards as sixth hotel transfer partner; Immfly, Wizz Air, and Gateretail launch digital cabin platform; Navan to launch AI assistant TravelClaw; RMS integrates with GuestRevu; Apaleo launches Copilot; SalamAir partners with Arcube for eSIM and e-visa services; Sojern names president of global destinations; Operto launches GEO Consultant; AirBaltic partners with InterLnkd; Vio partners with FINN; DCS Plus launches TINA AI.
Experience Columbus is partnering with Satisfi Labs on an 'Agentic City' program to connect attractions, venues, and local businesses through a shared AI platform. The initiative leverages first-party data from partner networks to provide real-time, location-specific information. Each participating DMO member is equipped with an individual AI agent that sources content dynamically from its own website. The system supports agent-to-agent handoffs and context sharing, with future plans for cross-agent automation.
Travelport shareholders have committed $50 million in fresh capital to support its next growth phase. New CEO John Mangelaars outlined three strategic priorities, including expanding AI capabilities and improving content supply. The company has completed a platform transformation into a single modernized tech stack, with TripServices at its core. Travelport is also bringing AI to its agent-facing Smartpoint software to boost productivity and reduce service costs.
London-based fintech Vuelo has raised £56 million in seed funding, consisting of £6 million in equity and £50 million in asset-backed security. Founded in 2023, the company plans to build an AI-native travel platform offering personalized payment plans and an intelligent approval engine. CEO Jasper Dykes previously founded Fly Now Pay Later.
Navan reported Q4 and full-year fiscal 2026 earnings with revenue of $702 million, up 31% YoY. Q4 revenue rose 35% to $178 million. The company turned free cash flow positive for the first time and gross booking volume increased 42% to $2.3 billion in Q4. Navan also launched Navan Edge, an AI travel assistant targeting the $56 billion unmanaged travel market.