Booking Holdings’ second AI startup launched in private beta Wednesday.

Who it impacts: OTA strategy teams, plus hotel and airline distribution and loyalty leaders who rely on owning the guest relationship after booking.

What changed: Booking Holdings plans to invest $100 million in Vayo, an AI trip manager that gathers confirmations from every brand into one place and monitors them, and it now has two standalone AI startups.

What to watch: Whether Vayo adds direct booking within weeks as promised. If it does, suppliers’ contact with their own guests after booking could start going through a Booking-owned app.

Booking’s $100M bet on Vayo is the same move suppliers now face everywhere: when an AI layer sits between you and the traveler, the booking still happens, but the relationship quietly changes hands.

November 11 in NYC, Skift puts the airline, hotel, OTA, and investor leaders deciding who controls that stack in one room, with Tyler Morse of MCR Hotels, Adam Schwab of Luxury Escapes, and Doria Holbrook of Oro Mobility opening the case.

SPONSORED · HOLAFLY

AI agents and connected trips only work if travelers stay online, and at Skift Global Forum, Holafly’s Richard Trinder explained why connectivity is the weak link travel brands need to build into the booking flow now.

Source: Skift Research’s State of Travel 2026

Online travel agency revenue has hit $82 billion, about 55% above 2019, but growth has since flattened to around 8% a year and is projected to reach $96 billion by 2027.

In this Skift Take Sessions episode, recorded at the Skift Creator Summit, Marriott’s Laura Troy and Meta’s Sanjay Bhatia explain how creator marketing went from an awareness play to a performance channel, and why giving creators freedom within a clear framework works better than tight scripting.