AI in Travel

The travel industry has spent three years talking about artificial intelligence. In the summer of 2026, we’re finally building with it.

Mews and SiteMinder are bringing distribution and hotel operations into one platform. The goal: Break down the hotel data silos that complicate AI adoption in the agentic age.

The UK keeps producing travel tech companies that leave home before they grow up, and the reasons should worry the stakeholders.

Brand recognition, a cognitive shortcut for human buying decisions, means nothing to AI agents that can reason through every option every time. That's shifting travel's entire marketing apparatus.

The conversations happening at the Skift Data + AI Summit go beyond adoption. They will address what happens when ambition meets reality, when speed collides with trust, and when the channels you’ve built your business on start to shift beneath you.

Gorin thinks Expedia's consumer businesses are vital cogs in the machine. But can she jumpstart their growth?

Chesky is moving fast on services, creators, and boutique hotels, and is also willing to say out loud where Airbnb has been "asleep at the wheel."

Expedia hasn’t said much publicly about when its B2B MCP server will arrive. Now an executive says it’s expected in months — a key step toward letting partners’ AI agents connect directly to Expedia’s travel inventory.

Airlines may be underestimating payments. As distribution grows more complex, payment infrastructure is becoming a bottleneck that shapes growth, partnerships, and the ability to deliver modern retail experiences.

Airbnb’s annual Summer Release announced a scatter shot of updates and additions, instead of one big bet. Many of them – including the company’s first foray into rental cars – cross squarely into legacy OTA territory.