Dive Brief:
- IHG Hotels & Resorts has launched an app in OpenAI’s ChatGPT, according to a Wednesday release. The company also said it plans to add artificial intelligence-powered conversational search to its booking channels, including its website and rewards app.
- The IHG ChatGPT app aims to help travelers “search, compare and explore” IHG’s portfolio, and will lead users to the company’s booking channels for reservations, per the release. ChatGPT will suggest properties according to guest preferences, and the app will display availability, pricing, maps and amenities, “helping guests move naturally from discovery to comparison,” IHG said.
- The new chatbot feature comes as other hotel players are furthering their AI strategies, especially with guest-facing tools.
Dive Insight:
The ChatGPT app is designed to complement IHG’s existing digital platforms and make it easier for travelers to find hotels and book their stays, per IHG.
Meanwhile, the hotel company’s conversational search tools are designed to give guests “a seamless, AI-enabled experience that understands the intent and context behind their search,” without the restrictions imposed by fixed search fields and keywords, per the release.
Overall, IHG is “using AI to make the travel experience more seamless from planning and booking through to their stay,” Jolie Fleming, chief product and technology officer at IHG, said in a statement.
“Pairing AI with the warmth of human hospitality ultimately helps us deliver a more exceptional live experience — one that feels personal, responsive and connected to each guest in the moment,” Fleming added.
Travelers are increasingly relying on AI to research and plan their travel. In fact, 56% of U.S. travelers are using AI for trip planning, booking or in-destination assistance, per a March report from Phocuswright.
IHG said in the release that its latest innovations are part of a broader AI and technology strategy focused on improving the guest experience, supporting hotel performance and advancing overall innovation.
During a first-quarter earnings call in May, IHG CEO Elie Maalouf said the company is evolving its platforms to make them more AI-forward and teased the launch of the conversational search tool.
Wednesday’s announcement comes alongside multiple similar rollouts in the hospitality industry.
In March, Hilton launched the Hilton AI planner, a new generative AI-powered digital concierge available to a subset of customers on its website. Meanwhile, Marriott is full steam ahead on its AI deployment strategy, and has plans to create a conversational, natural language search paradigm, CEO Anthony Capuano said during an earnings call last month.
