Op-Ed: Hotels Publish the Rate, but AI Quotes Booking.com

This is an opinion piece by Markus Busch, first published on Hospitality Net. Claims below are the author's.

The argument matters because it ties AI search behavior directly to OTA leverage over independent hotels.

Busch contends that although hotels set their own rates, AI systems mostly take prices from OTAs such as Booking.com and Expedia instead of hotel websites. "You publish the rate. Google and ChatGPT show the OTAs' price, because the OTAs are where they look," he writes.

Data cited

• Nicolas Sitter analyzed 240 ChatGPT price inquiries on June 25: ChatGPT searched the web in 98.8% of cases, OTAs made up 46% of pages accessed, and only 11% of OTA pages appeared as links in answers.
• SE Ranking tested 50,006 U.S. ChatGPT queries in July and found Booking.com held 62.57% of sponsored ad placements.
• Google ended auto-discovery of hotel rates on September 30; EU Digital Markets Act changes took effect September 8; Google AI booking launched in the U.S. in late August.

Google's partners

Google's ten booking partners are Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, Priceline, Trip.com, Choice, Hilton, IHG, Marriott and Wyndham, so independent hotels appear only through OTA intermediaries.

Recommendation

Independents should send rate feeds to Google Hotel Center and keep them accurate to appear alongside OTA pricing.