“Prepare for the Flood: The Game-Changing Arrival of AI-Powered Travel Deals”

Kayak’s CEO Steve Hafner expressed his “concern” that 2025 will mark the initial successful commercial partnership between an AI system and a significant player in the travel industry, suggesting that “it’s going to feel like a dam crashing down.”

“As soon as one of the AIs collaborates effectively with a key travel entity, the rest will scramble to capitalize on it,” Hafner stated, referring to Airbnb and Kayak’s affiliate Booking.com as examples of significant travel companies.

Hafner spoke at Skift’s Megatrends 2025 event in Manhattan on Tuesday, discussing “What Lies Ahead for 2025.”

Hafner mentioned that it is crucial to clarify how AI will be utilized commercially in travel, especially regarding “who receives acknowledgment for the actual booking.”

For instance: Will the booking be made through Google’s Gemini directly to the hotel or airline, or will it be processed through an intermediary like Kayak?

Shifting consumer behavior and forthcoming regulations will also play a role in shaping the future of AI and travel, he noted.

Will Travelers Forfeit Travel Websites and Applications?

Hafner expressed his worries regarding whether conventional travel websites might fall victim to evolving consumer behaviors.

“My concern is that they will cease visiting conventional travel sites by either browsing or downloading an application and rely increasingly on social media instead,” Hafner stated. “That’s where they already devote their attention, along with ChatGPT and similar AI systems for information retrieval.”

Kayak Is Developing Its Own Large Language Model, However …

Hafner indicated that Kayak is creating its own Large Language Model — “many other organizations are doing likewise” — as the expenses are decreasing. However, it is also supplying data to Google Gemini.

“Yet, just because Kayak AI outperforms the Kayak variant on Gemini, it doesn’t guarantee that users won’t opt for Gemini instead,” he remarked.

One of the Skift Megatrends highlighted that “Influencers Are the New Key Players in Travel.”

Hafner concurred, asserting that influencers “truly make an impact,” having taken over the role of reading reviews as his generation did on Tripadvisor.

He noted that Expedia is likely the most innovative company in the travel sector in terms of employing influencers as it has “adopted a curated selection of creators.” These individuals provide recommendations that can be booked through the platform.

The Kayak CEO stated that his company intends to take a different approach. “We aim to target the mass market with it,” Hafner remarked. “You can share your preferred destinations, and if someone actually makes a purchase through that, you earn a reward. Quite exciting! Thus, we’ll leverage social media and aim to transform it into a performance
marketing channel.”