Expedia and Booking.com have a problem. Or rather, an opportunity dressed up like a threat. Artificial intelligence is starting to plan trips. So, these old-guard giants are betting big on one thing. Trust. They believe if ChatGPT starts hallucinating a hotel that doesn’t exist, travelers will run back to them. Back to safety.
That’s the playbook right now. Assume the AI is shaky. Assume the user is scared. Play the guardian angel.
But James Liang isn’t playing that game. The Trip.com Group executive chairman took the earnings call last week and flipped the script entirely. He wasn’t just asking how to keep the traveler’s trust. He asked how to earn the AI’s trust.
“Our goal is not only to be the who-to app for travelers, but the trusted infrastructure for AI agents,” Liang said.
Do you see the shift? Most Online Travel Agencies are digging in their heels. They’re trying to convince customers never to leave them for a shiny new AI button. Liang? He’s handing out keys to the kingdom.
Trip.com wants to power those interfaces from inside the machine. They’re packaging data. Inventory that’s verified. Pricing that updates in real-time. It’s a play to become the plumbing, not just the storefront.
This puts other OTAs, hotels, and global distribution systems in a tricky spot. Who do you convince? The human who gets scared by glitches? Or the algorithm that demands clean data? Liang says you build the infrastructure the agent respects.
The industry is fractured on this. Half want to remain the destination. Half want to become the highway.
Only one question remains. Does the traveler even care if they book through you or your algorithmic puppet master? They just want a room. Clean. Confirmed. Cheap.
