The hospitality industry has always evolved alongside technology—from online booking engines to mobile check-ins and personalized guest experiences. Now, a new wave of innovation is redefining how hotels attract, engage, and convert travelers: Agentic AI. Unlike traditional AI tools that simply respond to commands, Agentic AI systems can act autonomously, make decisions, and execute complex marketing tasks with minimal human input. For hotels, this means smarter campaigns, real-time personalization, and marketing strategies that adapt instantly to guest behavior. As competition intensifies and guest expectations rise, Agentic AI is quickly becoming the next frontier in hotel marketing.
Agentic AI in Hotel Marketing
AI is transforming how travelers search for information about trips and accommodations. Hotels and resorts are already working to optimize their content to appear in AI-generated answers — a process known as Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
The next step is that as a hotel or resort, you’re not only discoverable but also bookable directly within large language models like ChatGPT or Google’s travel AI. That’s where Agentic AI comes in.
Agentic AI doesn’t just provide information — it can also take action. More broadly, Agentic AI refers to an autonomous digital assistant capable of setting its own goals and completing tasks with minimal human input.
Imagine saying: “Book me a hotel in New York for next weekend, two people, preferably with a spa, budget €200 per night.”
A generative AI would give you a list of suggestions. An agentic AI would go further — checking availability, comparing prices, and, with your permission, completing the booking. In short, it acts like a digital travel agent that both researches and reserves.
Big Tech bets on Agentic AI
The major tech players are heavily investing in agentic AI for travel and hospitality.
Google recently announced an expansion of its Search AI capabilities, allowing users to book hotels and flights directly within the AI interface. Travelers can simply describe what they’re looking for in natural language, and the AI will show results with all details — availability, prices, reviews, and photos — and even complete the booking without leaving Google.
OpenAI is following a similar path, testing agentic search functions that enable direct bookings through partners like Expedia and Booking.com. The AI search company Perplexity has also partnered with SelfBook and Tripadvisor to enable native hotel bookings within its AI-powered environment.
Why should hotels and resorts care?
Agentic AI may well become the travel agent of the future.
As consumers increasingly rely on AI assistants to plan and book trips, hotels must ensure they remain visible and bookable within this new ecosystem.
Early research already shows strong adoption: by 2025, around 22% of global travelers are expected to use AI-driven tools for trip planning, and over 90% say they intend to use AI for future travel. That means trust in digital assistants is growing rapidly — particularly among younger and international travelers
How can hotels prepare strategically?
The relevance of agentic AI for hotels has two main aspects:
- Visibility: If an AI does the research for travelers, your property needs to appear in its responses. This is where Generative Engine Optimization comes in — making your content “AI-ready.” (We’ll cover GEO in depth in another post.)
- Bookability: Your hotel must be bookable within these AI-driven booking flows. Properties that aren’t connected to the AI ecosystems risk being left out, no matter how good their product is. Early adopters, however, can gain an advantage — being among the first hotels in their region to become bookable through Google’s AI Mode, for example, could increase direct reservations dramatically
Becoming bookable within AI environments
You have two main paths:
- Through OTAs: Partner with platforms like Expedia or Booking.com that are already integrating with AI. This ensures inclusion but keeps you dependent on their commissions.
- Through direct integration: Make your own website or system bookable via AI.
Key considerations: - Keep your data well-structured and accessible. Using an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server can help exchange data with AI environments like ChatGPT to provide availability, pricing, or booking functionality.
- Define your positioning: decide in which types of queries or contexts you want your hotel to be recommended — just like choosing the right keywords in SEO or paid search.
- Determine who implements the integration: your PMS provider, internal tech team, or a specialized agency?
- Experiment with AI-assisted guest communication: Deploy a generative AI chatbot on your website that can answer questions, show availability, and even initiate bookings. This builds familiarity and lowers barriers for direct bookings.
- Prepare your organization: Discuss how your team will handle bookings through AI agents. Are your systems ready for shorter booking funnels with fewer human touchpoints? Should your marketing adapt as traffic shifts from websites or OTAs to AI-driven platforms.
Conclusion
Agentic AI represents a powerful shift in how hotels approach marketing—moving from reactive tactics to intelligent, self-optimizing systems that work around the clock. By automating decision-making, personalizing guest journeys, and continuously optimizing campaigns, hotels can deliver more relevant experiences while saving time and resources. Those who embrace Agentic AI early will gain a competitive edge, building stronger guest relationships and driving higher bookings in an increasingly digital marketplace. As hotel marketing enters this new frontier, one thing is clear: the future belongs to brands that let AI not just assist, but actively lead.