Google AI Mode is booking hotels in the US, independent hotels are losing visibility
Google AI Mode accepts hotel bookings in the US through 10 chains and online booking platforms; on the same day, the advertising visibility of independent hotels has declined, and they appear 8 times less often in AI searches than chains.
Google's artificial intelligence-based AI Mode feature has started accepting hotel bookings in the US. According to Markus Busch's tests, the system completes the booking process across 10 hotel chains and online booking platforms. On the same day — September 30 — with the invalidation of the price feed requirement, the advertising visibility of independent hotels decreased.
In Terence Ronson's live agent tests, the Marriott, IHG, Accor and Choice systems progressed to the final stage of booking, while Hyatt and Hilton remained incomplete. According to the source, independent hotels appear 8 times less in artificial intelligence searches than chains.
This shows that the booking flow has moved from search results directly into the chat window. A property that does not present price and availability information in a machine-readable format does not make it into the user's list of choices.
For small hotels and guesthouses in Azerbaijan, this means that keeping profile information on booking platforms complete and updated, and providing prices in a unified format, is becoming increasingly important. Technical preparation is required for properties outside a chain to be visible on these channels.