Expedia, Kayak, HomeToGo: The Race for AI for Booking Platforms

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Many booking platforms that experimented with generative AI equipment early on are now launching a second or third edition of the technology.  

This has been the case with Expedia, Kayak and HomeToGo, all of which have announced updates or new artificial intelligence equipment in months.

According to the tests that Skift has been able to carry out so far, none of the equipment is as modern as users would like; However, those corporations are probably more complex than those that haven’t started yet.  

Some of the projects featured below will be part of discussions next week at the Skift Data AI Summit in New York City. Matthias Keller, lead scientist at Kayak, and Rajesh Naidu, lead architect at Expedia, among others, are expected to speak.

Expedia announced earlier this month that it would add various AI teams for other parts of the journey, adding inspiration, planning, booking, visitor service, and more.  

The main tool is Romie, an AI-powered agent and assistant. Users can access the chatbot separately or in teams via Whatsapp, SMS, or the Expedia app.

A quick check on WhatsApp shows that Romie can answer questions about destinations and offer features with links to flights, hotels, and activities. Clicking on a link opens this product in the Expedia app.  

(Expect a full review soon detailing how those features work. )

Romie should proactively recommend opportunities in the event of an unforeseen event that could disrupt travel, such as bad weather or flight delays, according to the app.

The Expedia app also has an itinerary builder and a tool for users to compare destinations. The online visitor support center has been updated with AI to fix issues faster, the company said, and visitors can now view AI-generated review summaries at most. from each hotel’s review page.

HomeToGo, the Germany-based metasearch and vacation rental booking site, last week shared its vision for an artificial intelligence assistant that would help users with search, booking, and post-booking assistance.  

The goal is to create a “Super AI Sunny” chatbot, but the company is building it in stages.   

HomeToGo is one of those staples of a new visitor services chatbot called AI Sunny, which has repurposed the old classic chatbot. The company said that so far, AI Sunny has reduced the shift from consumers to human agents by about 40%.  

AI Sunny joins an AI-powered search tool, called AI Mode, that Skift tested after its senior year.   

HomeToGo plans to merge AI Sunny and AI Mode products to create the basis of Super AI Sunny for 3 uses:

HomeToGo also said last week that it is employing Google Cloud’s Vertex AI to create products as part of a purpose to create a reimagined marketplace powered entirely through AI. Vertex AI provides software developers with access to various styles of generative AI from third-party components in addition to Google’s. allowing developers to choose the most productive and appropriate style for each individual project.  

Google’s Gemini style powers HomeToGo Smart AI Reviews, a tool that summarizes visitor reviews about an asset and highlights key features.   

Travel metasearch engine Kayak earlier this year launched the first edition of a reimagined booking and planning procedure, a tool called Ask Kayak.

The user starts with a spark in the language about an express destination. The tool then opens a full-fledged webpage with features for flights, accommodation, and car rentals, as well as AI-generated data about the destination.   

As Skift’s March study showed, the generation still desires paintings; however, CEO Steve Hafner hopes that AI will lead to a brighter future for online booking companies.  

Kayak was one of the first agencies to announce an add-on in ChatGPT Plus. It allows ChatGPT to provide data and links about express flights based on Kayak’s data.

With Ask Kayak, the company has launched a tool to read the price of the flight from a screenshot and then search for a higher price.  

Kayak is owned by Booking Holdings.

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Keywords: synthetic intelligence, reserve funds, expedia, generative AI, hometogue, kayak, online newsletter, invitation, very online

Photo credit: HomeToGo shared its long-term outlook for an AI-integrated marketplace. HomeTOGo

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