AI agents are already booking travel. One invite-only booking agent reported more than $1 billion a year in transaction volume, with half of that in travel. Most travel companies remain built for travelers who search, scroll, and click, leaving the industry unprepared for AI-driven commerce.
Hotels spend more than $105 billion annually on distribution. AI companies now want a portion of that spending by controlling which brands appear to travelers, which systems complete bookings, which cards process payment, and which loyalty programs earn rewards. This represents a shift from the traditional direct-versus-third-party distribution choice that shaped travel strategy for decades.
Travelers still prefer booking directly with suppliers. Skift Research found direct suppliers lead with a 49% net comfort score, followed by packaged tours at 37%, travel agents at 34%, loyalty portals at 31%, and OTAs at 20%. AI and chatbots scored negative 7%. However, the discovery path is shifting from "search-scroll-compare" to "ask-shortlist-decide." As travelers gain confidence booking through AI platforms, shelf space for brands will shrink.
Hotels, airlines, and other travel retailers face a tension. Optimizing for AI discoverability requires giving control to AI platforms, risking direct customer relationships. Legacy servicing systems and commerce technology designed for humans cannot easily support AI agents handling trip management tasks like comparing offers, changing orders, canceling reservations, and resolving problems.
Credit cards, banks, membership programs, and tech platforms profit from travel without owning airline seats or hotel rooms. They earn from payments, rewards, subscriptions, advertising, and financing. Skift Research found 32% of travelers rank credit-card or bank loyalty programs as most rewarding, ahead of hotel programs at 26% and airline programs at 20%.
A Skift and ZS survey found 75% of senior travel executives have non-core assets to monetize, but only 32% described their current approach as "very" innovative.
The Skift Commerce Summit 2026 brings senior commerce leaders together to address five key decisions. Operator tickets cost $275. Vendor tickets cost $1,500 with limited supply.