Fliggy CTO: AI Agents Reshape OTA Entry Points and Hotel Operations

Key points

• At the 2026 TravelDaily Summit, Chen Ye discussed "Agentic Commerce and AI-Native Travel: Where Are We Now?", arguing that as agents search, compare, decide and even transact for users, the travel industry's traffic entry points, transaction methods and operating models will change.
• Fliggy has embedded AI into travel scenarios; its AI-native app "Fliggy Bangbang" spans pre-trip inspiration and itinerary planning through booking and post-trip service, and users can hand social-media guides to AI to turn into purchasable, executable plans.
• User expression shifts from keyword search to full need descriptions, such as finding a Beijing hotel for a five-day stay with parents, not too far from attractions, moderate budget and quiet, with AI involved in combining destination, hotel, transport, itinerary and even departure timing.
• The entry path may become user to AI agent to OTA capabilities to hotel supply, requiring OTAs to make hotel inventory, pricing, rules, service and fulfilment understandable, callable and transactable by AI.
• Hotel competition may expand from search ranking, exposure and click-through rate to real-time inventory accuracy, pricing flexibility, product information completeness, cancellation-rule clarity and identifiable service capabilities.
• Fliggy is exploring real-time revenue management, where AI tools combine e-commerce, map and footfall ecosystem data to capture demand shifts and make high-frequency pricing decisions; a marketing agent judges audience, channel and budget and adjusts continuously.
• In early experiments, the marketing agent produced a 2-3x improvement in customer acquisition efficiency and cost for relevant clients.
• Chen argues AI may create more travel demand, as long-tail needs previously unsearched or poorly expressed re-enter the transaction market as decision costs fall; the core of hotel operations may shift from how people operate systems to what goals people give AI.