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Travel AI’s Prove-It Phase, Visibility, and the Booking Gap

Skift's Data + AI Summit in Europe last week just showed that AI may be changing travel distribution and internal operations, but booking volume is another story.

What Changed: Independents are 8x more likely to be unknown to AI; Google review volume drives discoverability.

Who it Impacts: European independent hoteliers, hotel and OTA distribution leaders, and CTOs setting AI standards.

What to Watch: Whether AI-booked room nights top 1% to 1.6%, and how the EU AI Act shapes internal AI rollouts.

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Skift Commerce Summit · NYC · November 11

AI agents are entering the booking path, but the real fight is over who owns the transaction once they do.

Tyler Morse (MCR Hotels), Adam Schwab (Luxury Escapes), and Doria Holbrook (Oro Mobility, Hertz) join airline, OTA, GDS, and payments leaders for a half-day on the converging commerce stack, every session grounded in Skift Research.

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Decoding the New Premium Traveler

SPONSORED · AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAVEL

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From Skift Research

Travelers Are Uncomfortable Booking With AI; Direct Channels Are the Most Trusted

Source: Skift Research’s State of Travel 2026

Despite the industry’s rush into agentic booking, AI/chatbots are the one channel travelers actively distrust.

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Virgin Atlantic's Fuel Budget Just Doubled, and the Jet Crack Is Why

Virgin Atlantic CEO Corneel Koster explains what it means when your total fuel budget goes from $96 a barrel to $200.

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