AI didn’t disrupt travel.
It exposed how broken our distribution really is.
Just listened to Traci M. at HEDNA — and honestly, what stood out was not just the data, but her storytelling.
Clear, sharp, funny, and brutally honest. She nailed it.
A few signals say everything:
69% of travelers heavily research before booking.
73% of intent still flows through search engines and OTAs.
AI is already ~15% of discovery, with +250% YoY growth.
And yet… most of us still can’t explain the ROI of AI.
That’s the real gap.
AI makes intent visible: vibe vs budget, location vs flexibility, desire vs constraints.
But our industry wasn’t built to consume that complexity.
AI clarifies.
Distribution struggles to respond.
Technology won’t replace humans.
But humans without AI will disappear.
AI didn’t break travel.
It just turned the lights on.
👏 Huge credit to Traci at Priceline for turning AI + distribution chaos into a story people can actually understand.
#AI #TravelTech #Distribution #HotelIndustry #HEDNA #FutureOfTravel