Travelers Who Talk to a Booking AI Convert at Twice the Rate

Travelers who used Booking Holdings’ AI assistants at Priceline and Agoda converted at about twice the rate of non-users, the company said on its third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday. Agoda assistant users also had average booking values roughly 20 percent higher, though the company did not say how many visitors use the tools or what the underlying conversion rates are.

Traffic from outside AI platforms remains small. Referrals from large language models have accelerated in recent weeks but still account for well under one percent of Booking.com’s room nights, and chief financial officer Ewout Steenbergen said newer personal AI agents are not growing noticeably faster. The company also launched Vayo, a trip-planning assistant, and Lola, a membership-based assistant, as standalone startups.

The financial headline was less tidy. Third-quarter revenue slipped one percent to $8.9 billion, reflecting a $900 million reduction tied to a Federal Trade Commission investigation involving Priceline and a business-to-business affiliate partner. The company said FTC staff intends to recommend a complaint alleging unfair or deceptive practices around disclosures, fees, customer support and billing, and that no settlement has been reached. Excluding that adjustment, revenue rose nine percent to $9.8 billion.

Demand is cooling. Room nights grew seven percent to 345 million and flight tickets jumped 19 percent to 21 million, but Steenbergen said travel softened toward the end of the quarter, citing slower international travel, Middle East disruptions, elevated airfares and unrest in some European cities. Booking expects fourth-quarter room nights to rise only one to three percent.

Sources: Travel Weekly