Hotels want to shape the trip before travelers pick a destination. At IHIF Berlin, Hyatt's CEO described replacing city-date-room search with intent-based AI—ask for warm weather, golf, and a Michelin restaurant, get options. Other execs made the same point: discovery has moved to social and AI, and brands that show up at booking are already late.
OpenAI hired a former Meta ad exec to commercialize ChatGPT ads—a sign the platform wants to be a media channel. Trump's new AI framework, announced earlier today, could ease compliance for hotel chatbots but leaves algorithmic pricing fights to the states. And Google brought live translation to any iPhone with any earbuds—one less reason to avoid destinations where you don't speak the language.
Civitatis + SKIFT
Offering wide-scale travel experiences is one thing — curating them for the world's 850 million Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking travelers is another. With its relaunched app, Civitatis keeps travel planning simple and culturally resonant for its global audience.
EDITOR’S PICKS
SKIFT PODCAST NETWORK
Most travelers don’t start with a destination, they start with a feeling.
In this clip from Good Morning Hospitality, a Skift Podcast: Hotels Edition, Sarah Dandashy and guest host Katie Cline break down how AI is changing travel planning.
They discuss how Hyatt is using AI to capture traveler intent earlier, before a destination is even chosen. Instead of searching for a place, travelers describe the experience they want and AI finds the destination.
It’s no longer just about winning the booking. It’s about shaping the trip from the start.
SKIFT RESEARCH
How are public travel tech companies performing around the world? The Skift Travel 200 pulls the data you need to know to understand the market. Paid subscribers get full access here.
