How online reservations will change with artificial intelligence: to trip planners and operators

Working every day with small, medium and sometimes tiny tourist realities, I realize one thing: digital change is no longer a theoretical concept. It is happening now and we are touching it by hand.What until recently seemed "future", the use of artificial intelligence to look for, plan and book travel, is already reality.

The news that Booking.com has made a collaboration with Openai has perhaps passed a little underground among the operators. Yet it is one of the clearest signs that the rules of the game are changing. Thus was born theTo the trip planner, a tool that allows anyone to organize a journey simply by talking to a virtual assistant, in a natural and conversational way.

If you are an independent structure, a minor destination, an operator that focuses on personalization and quality of the service, is there a question that you have to start with ports: how will you be found by these new tools?

What is the Ai Trip Planner of Booking.com

L 'To the trip planneris an assistant based on GPT-4 technology (the same at the base ofChat GPT) which dialogues with the user and helps him to plan a trip. The user writes, for example: "I would like to go to Italy for a romantic weekend, perhaps in a village with a sea view“. And the assistant suggests locations, itineraries, hotels compatible with that requested, also showing availability and links to direct booking.

We no longer look for single keywords. An intention is described. A desire is told. And artificial intelligence translates all this into concrete proposals, in a few seconds. This radically changes the way you compete online: the site with the best classic SEO is not said to emerge. There are more those who have understandable content, updated data and readable information also by an AI assistant.

What is Operator of Openai

Operator is even further.He is an autonomous agent who not only advises but performs actions. It can book flights, hotels, activities; collect documents such as passport; Fill out forms and finalize payments. Imagine a user who says: "Book me the first flight to Lisbon Direct and below 150 euros, departing from Rome"Operator not only finds the best option, but manages the entire process. It is no longer just a conversation: it is an operation. This is why those who work in tourism must start thinking about this change.

What impact will these tools have on the tourism sector?

The most immediate effect will be thedisappointment of classic ota? Not exactly. In reality we are in front of a new form ofre-intermediation: If your structure is not well described and visible in the databases that these to consult, you will never be proposed. Not because you are not very interesting, but because you are not readable. It means that we must begin to design our content and our sites not only for people, but also for intelligent machines.

What to do (really) to not disappear from new research to

Here are some practical actions that I recommend every day to customers with whom I work:

• Clear and contextualized content, who answer real questions and tell the offer in a simple way (not vague, not generic)
• Always updated data, understandable prices, calendars, cancellation conditions readable also by Bot
• Semantic optimization, with content designed to be understood also by a vocal assistant or by an agent ai
• Integrated and clean booking engine, which facilitates access to data without redundant steps

In other words: there is not enough to be online. Mustbe readable.

But does this mean losing control?

No, if we start understanding the language of machines and use it in our favor. Our work is still to tell experiences, places, atmospheres. But we have to learn towrite also for those who read us without eyes. An assistant Ai does not get excited for a photo or for an inspired copy. But it can understand if a structure is in a quiet area, if it has family rooms, if it is close to a bus stop or if it offers breakfast included. Here's where the game is played.

Digital must be inhabited, not only used

This sentence, which I also wrote in other recent posts (here and here), continue to be worth.We must not chase digital fashions. We have to understand them, translate them into our language and decide how to live them. Artificial intelligence is not the end of our profession: it is a new beginning, if we have the courage to live in this time with lucidity. On my site I write regularly about these themes. And if you want to deepen, understand what it means for your structure or territory all this change, often go back to my site or contact me.