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# AI is changing how guests find hotels and they are booking later – how hotels can adapt
- URL: https://www.eingecheckt.de/en/ai-travel-planning-late-bookings-hotels/
- Published: 2026-10-27T19:46:03.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-29T07:10:44.000Z
- Description: Guests plan with AI and book later. Tourism professor Marco A. Gardini explains how hotels can make a sensible start.
- Author: Michael Külbel
- Tags: Digitalisation, #en, #magazin_en, #pair_ki_reiseplanung_buchungen

Key points 
- Guests increasingly let AI recommend accommodation and decide later: in Austria, almost half only start planning in the last four weeks.
- According to tourism professor Marco A. Gardini, AI recommendations take into account wishes, reviews and experiences as well as price and location.
- Many hotels are still hesitant – because of attitudes, but also a lack of expertise, time and staff, data protection and patchwork software.
- Small independent hotels should start with small projects, such as guest communication and translations, and measure the benefits.

**More and more travellers are turning to artificial intelligence for advice when looking for a hotel. At the same time, booking decisions are increasingly being made at short notice. For hotels, this means new demands on visibility, pricing and operational planning. In conversation with eingecheckt®, tourism professor Marco A. Gardini of Kempten University of Applied Sciences explains why many businesses are still struggling with AI and how smaller independent hotels in particular can make a sensible start.**

The desire to travel is there, but the reservations are slow to come in. That sums up the situation for the coming winter season in Austria. According to a current forecast by the Austrian National Tourist Office, around 21.7 million guest arrivals are expected in winter 2026/27, an increase of 1.5 per cent on the previous season. At the same time, many holidaymakers are deciding on their trip comparatively late.¹

The winter potential study published on 19 October shows how wide the gap between travel intentions and actual bookings can be. Depending on the source market, only 18 to 31 per cent of respondents had fully booked their planned winter trips by early September. Almost half of those for whom Austria is a definite or fairly certain destination only start planning within the last four weeks before departure.²

This is a challenging situation for hotels. While rotas, purchasing and room rates have to be prepared, it is still unclear when and to what extent demand will turn into firm reservations. At the same time, the way potential guests search for suitable accommodation is changing. Artificial intelligence is becoming another digital adviser.

## The hotel search increasingly begins with a question to AI

A representative Bitkom survey from August 2026 shows how far this development has already gone. According to the survey, 19 per cent of German holidaymakers have already had accommodation recommended to them by AI applications. A further 44 per cent can imagine using such recommendations in future. When looking for a destination, 24 per cent already use such applications.³

![Portrait of Prof. Dr. Marco A. Gardini in a dark jacket and white shirt with arms folded in front of a light wall](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/marco-gardini-hochschule-kempten-3.jpg)

Prof. Dr. Marco A. Gardini, Kempten University of Applied Sciences. Photo: private

For Prof. Dr. Marco A. Gardini, Professor of Tourism, International Hospitality Management and Marketing at [Kempten University of Applied Sciences](https://www.hs-kempten.de/fakultaet-tourismus-management?ref=eingecheckt.de) and deputy head of the [Bavarian Centre for Tourism](https://bzt.bayern/?ref=eingecheckt.de), this fundamentally changes the hotel search. Guests are no longer limiting themselves to traditional [booking platforms](https://www.eingecheckt.de/en/what-is-an-ota-hotel/) but are increasingly including AI-based recommendations in their choice.

“Price and location are no longer the only things that count, but also individual wishes, reviews and special experiences,” explains Gardini. A hotel is therefore no longer compared on its room rates alone, but increasingly on how well it matches a traveller’s personal expectations.

This opens up new opportunities, especially for hotels with an individual profile. A small hotel that stands out for exceptional hospitality, regional cuisine or an unusual concept, for example, has qualities that can be relevant for a personal recommendation. What matters, however, is that these special features are also recognisable online.

![“Those who communicate their strengths clearly have a better chance of being considered by AI as a suitable recommendation.” – Marco A. Gardini](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/marco-gardini-quote-recommendation-3.png)

Gardini therefore advises hotels to be present with up-to-date, relevant information on their website, on social media and on external sales and communication platforms. “Those who communicate their strengths clearly have a better chance of being considered by AI as a suitable recommendation.”

## Travellers are becoming more open – but not everyone is using AI yet

![Hand holding a smartphone with the ChatGPT app open in front of an open laptop](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/smartphone-chatgpt-reiseplanung-3.jpg)

More and more travellers let AI applications recommend accommodation. Photo: Jernej Furman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

It is worth taking a closer look when interpreting the current figures. Interest in artificial intelligence does not mean that travellers are actually fully automating their holiday planning. A YouGov study published in May 2026 showed that the actual use of various AI applications in travel was often still below ten per cent. Use lagged well behind general interest, particularly for individual itineraries and personalised recommendations.⁴

The picture is therefore more nuanced than some forecasts suggest. AI is gaining importance for inspiration and research, while traditional booking portals, hotel websites and personal advice continue to play an important role.

![Key figures on AI in travel planning: 19 per cent of German holidaymakers have already had AI recommend accommodation, 44 per cent can imagine doing so, 24 per cent already use AI when looking for a destination, and actual use of many AI applications in travel is below 10 per cent](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/ai-travel-planning-key-figures-3.png)

The idea that digital assistants will book entire trips on their own in future also goes beyond how they are used in everyday life today.

For hoteliers, this initially means a manageable task: they do not have to adopt every new technical trend immediately. It makes more sense to understand their guests’ changing information needs and to present their own offering accordingly.

## Why many hotels are struggling with artificial intelligence

![Hotel reception with a curved wooden counter, warm lighting and a bouquet of flowers](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/hotelrezeption-3.jpg)

At reception, AI is meant to relieve staff, not replace them. Photo: Hôtel Opéra Cadet, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

While some guests are increasingly taking new technologies for granted, many hotels still lack a clear idea of what role AI should play in their own business. Gardini sees both cultural and organisational reasons for this.

“Large parts of the hotel industry have traditionally been characterised by a rather critical and destructive attitude towards new information and communication technologies,” says the tourism expert. This is often based on the notion that artificial intelligence and personal hospitality are opposites.

However, Gardini puts this criticism into crucial perspective: “Unless we are talking about a fully automated hotel offering, we should assume that AI is not meant to replace personal service, but to relieve staff and give them more time for the guest.” In his view, this is not about abolishing human hospitality, but about using the technology sensibly behind the scenes.

![“AI [is] not meant to replace personal service, but to relieve staff and give them more time for the guest.” – Marco A. Gardini](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/marco-gardini-quote-guest-3.png)

There are also practical difficulties. Smaller independent hotels in particular often lack the expertise, time and staff to systematically assess and introduce new applications. Data protection and concerns about impersonal communication also play a role. In addition, many businesses work with software landscapes that have grown over time and whose individual systems cannot easily be connected.

An international study by Publicis Sapient from June 2026 also shows that technical introduction alone does not mean successful integration. Of 1,550 AI decision-makers surveyed at large companies across various industries, 73 per cent said that AI was already used regularly or across most business processes. However, only ten per cent described it as core to how their business operates.⁵

The study cannot be applied directly to small hotels. But it shows that even large companies find it difficult to integrate individual AI applications into working operational processes. The challenges Gardini describes for independent hotels are therefore by no means limited to small businesses.

## Late bookings call for more flexibility in pricing and planning

Alongside technological change, hotels are dealing with a second development: booking decisions made at shorter notice. This makes it harder to estimate early on how many rooms will actually be occupied on a given date.

![Snow-covered ski slope with skiers above a village with chalets and forest in Saalbach-Hinterglemm](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/skigebiet-saalbach-winter-2.jpg)

Saalbach-Hinterglemm in winter: many guests only decide on their trip at short notice. Photo: MattiPaavola, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

“Late bookings make demand harder to predict and present hotels with greater challenges in staff planning, purchasing and occupancy,” explains Gardini. At the same time, he sees economic opportunities in this. Those who adjust their prices to demand, booking levels and events can market empty rooms more effectively.

According to Gardini, [revenue management](https://www.eingecheckt.de/en/what-is-hotel-revenue-management/) has therefore become considerably more important in many hotels in recent years. This is not about generally charging last-minute guests higher or lower prices. Rather, businesses need to continuously review their positioning and pricing strategy and take actual demand into account.

Data analysis and AI can help to identify booking patterns and changes earlier. This is particularly interesting for businesses that have so far relied mainly on experience or on comparisons with the previous year. How much a hotel benefits, however, also depends on what data it has available and how it translates this into decisions.

## How a small independent hotel can get started

For Gardini, using AI sensibly does not start with choosing software. The first step should be to clarify what concrete benefit a new application can bring to the business model. A hotel could consider whether it wants to reduce costs, improve its competitiveness on the revenue side or relieve its staff.

This results in a number of practical first steps:

First steps with AI

1. **Guest communication:** AI can help to draft and handle recurring enquiries.
2. **Translations and marketing copy:** Simple tasks can be handled more efficiently with the help of AI.
3. **Chatbots:** Frequently asked questions can be answered automatically, provided this suits the character of the hotel.
4. **Your own sales and communication channels:** Information should be provided in such an up-to-date and clear way that guests and AI systems can recognise what makes the hotel special.
5. **Small projects with measurable benefits:** Rather than introducing several solutions at once, Gardini recommends gaining experience, evaluating the results and adapting the use of AI to the hotel’s own profile.

## The technology must fit the hotel – not the other way round

Developments in the travel market present hotels with different tasks. On the one hand, the way guests search for information and make their choices is changing. On the other, short-notice bookings call for more flexibility in sales and operations. AI can help with both challenges, but it does not replace clear positioning or business decisions.

For smaller, personally run hotels in particular, getting started therefore does not have to mean a large-scale technology project. Gardini’s approach is much more pragmatic: each business should decide for itself which applications suit its business model and where they create real benefits.

For the hotel industry, this is also an opportunity to resolve a supposed contradiction. Personal hospitality and technical support do not have to be mutually exclusive. If AI helps to complete recurring tasks more quickly, better understand current guest wishes and market free capacity in a more targeted way, it can support a hotel’s individual character rather than displace it.

FURTHER READING 

### Edited by Marco A. Gardini

For readers who want to explore the topic further: Gardini’s volume, co-edited with Guido Sommer, looks at digitalisation and artificial intelligence as competitive factors in tourism (in German, Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden 2023). 

[ ![Book cover of Digital Leadership im Tourismus, edited by Marco A. Gardini and Guido Sommer](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/buchcover-digital-leadership-im-tourismus.jpg) Digitalisation & AI **Digital Leadership im Tourismus** ](https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-658-37545-4?ref=eingecheckt.de) 

Sources

This article is based on current market studies, tourism forecasts and an original written interview. As of 26 October 2026\. 

1. [Austrian National Tourist Office (2026) ](https://b2b.austria.info/de-at/newsroom/2026/winterurlaub-2026-27-hohe-reiselust-und-millionenpotenzial-fuer-oesterreich/?ref=eingecheckt.de)  
*Hohe Reiselust und Millionenpotenzial für Österreich*  
Press release dated 19 October 2026\. Winter forecast of 21.7 million expected arrivals and figures on planning lead times. Original publication in German.
2. [Austrian National Tourist Office / NIT (2026) ](https://b2b.austria.info/de-at/wissen/studien-und-berichte/potenzialstudien/winterpotenzialstudie-2026-27/?ref=eingecheckt.de)  
*Winterpotenzialstudie 2026/27*  
Study published on 19 October 2026\. Travel intentions, short-term planning and booking status in ten European markets. Original publication in German.
3. [Bitkom e. V. (2026) ](https://www.bitkom.org/Presse/Presseinformation/Wo-wird-KI-zum-Reisebegleiter?ref=eingecheckt.de)  
*Reiseziel, Restaurant, Route: Wo KI zum Reisebegleiter wird*  
Press release dated 7 August 2026\. Representative survey on the use of AI in holiday planning. Original publication in German.
4. [YouGov (2026) ](https://yougov.com/de-de/artikel/54726-grosse-skepsis-trotz-interesse-deutsche-reisende-zogern-bei-ki-nutzung?ref=eingecheckt.de)  
*Große Skepsis trotz Interesse: Deutsche Reisende zögern bei KI-Nutzung*  
Article dated 11 May 2026\. Study on the actual use of and willingness to use AI in travel. Original publication in German.
5. [Publicis Sapient (2026) ](https://www.publicissapient.com/company/news/ai-adoption-enterprise-readiness-report-2026?ref=eingecheckt.de)  
*2026 Global Enterprise AI Report*  
Press release dated 17 June 2026\. Survey of 1,550 AI decision-makers at large companies in six countries.

**Original editorial source:**Written interview with Prof. Dr. Marco A. Gardini, Kempten University of Applied Sciences, October 2026\. Answers and quotations were translated from German by the eingecheckt® editorial team.