---
title: "Hospitality Tech Companies Scale AI Innovation With LLM Integration"
description: "LLMs are reshaping travel and hospitality at scale."
published: 2025-01-20T00:00:00+00:00
author: "ONDA 편집팀"
category: "Weekly ON"
image: "https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/678e2525c164f85bfd548a91_WeeklyON_vol144_webflow_cover_1200px.png"
canonical: https://global.onda.me/en/blog?slug=weeklyon-vol-144
locale: en
---
# Hospitality Tech Companies Scale AI Innovation With LLM Integration

⚠️ All rights reserved. Cite this piece as 'ONDA (온다)' when quoting.

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#### **This Week**

🏨 Hospitality tech companies scale AI innovation with LLM integration

💡 OTA lowest-price guarantees drive up hotel ad costs

⌨️ #VacationSubsidies #TravelPonziScheme #SeoulSubway #HotelOpeningsUpClosingsDown #SMBHotelCMS

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**🏠 Industry Story**

### **Hospitality Tech Companies Scale AI Innovation With LLM Integration**

The recent [strategic partnership between Perplexity and TripAdvisor](https://www.tech42.co.kr/ai-%EA%B2%80%EC%83%89%EC%97%94%EC%A7%84-%ED%8D%BC%EB%B8%94%EB%A0%89%EC%8B%9C%ED%8B%B0-%ED%8A%B8%EB%A6%BD%EC%96%B4%EB%93%9C%EB%B0%94%EC%9D%B4%EC%A0%80%EC%99%80-%EC%A0%9C%ED%9C%B4%ED%95%B4/) made waves. It's a **landmark signal that LLMs are moving from experiment to core infrastructure in travel**.

**★ What's an LLM (Large Language Model)?**

An AI system trained on massive amounts of text data, capable of understanding and generating human language. Models like GPT-4 and Claude can handle text generation, translation, summarization, and Q&A—by grasping context and producing coherent, contextually appropriate responses.

Today, we'll look at this partnership and explore **how LLMs are reshaping hospitality at every level**.

### **What Does the TripAdvisor-Perplexity Partnership Mean for Travel?**

TripAdvisor is teaming up with AI search specialist Perplexity to launch **personalized travel planning powered by LLMs**. Hotel search results will now include summaries explaining why each property was surfaced—complete with TripAdvisor ratings, perks, and images displayed directly in Perplexity. The service combines TripAdvisor's vast travel database with Perplexity's language models to deliver **context-aware, intelligent recommendations**.

Here's a hypothetical: A user types, "We're honeymooning in Bali next month. Recommend a 5-day itinerary that's romantic but also lets us experience local culture." Instead of a generic list, the system pulls from real traveler reviews and ratings to craft an optimized plan—factoring in **travel times, local weather, and peak season dynamics**. It's not just a list of places; it's a practical, personalized travel blueprint.

That's how OTAs are evolving. But what about **hotels and hospitality tech platforms—how are they innovating with LLMs?**

### 👉[**Read the full story**](https://www.onda.me/blog/hoseupitalriti-tekeu-gieob-llm-giban-ai-doibhae-seobiseu-hyeogsin-bongyeoghwa?utm_source=stibee&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter-2025_01_20)

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**💡 Hospitality Trends**

### **OTA Lowest-Price Guarantees Drive Up Hotel Ad Costs**

[**👉 Full story**](https://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article134791)

When OTAs undercut hotel direct rates, **hotels pay significantly more for advertising**. A study by hotel tech firm SHR found that when an OTA lists the lowest price, hotels pay on average **47% more per click**.

![(Source: Unsplash)](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/678e26dab269966b477e888f_678e2616b6b8221728aedb0d_jakub-zerdzicki-ykgLX_CwtDw-unsplash.jpeg)

The numbers: When hotels offer the lowest rate directly ($0.66), cost-per-click is lowest. When an OTA undercuts them, CPC jumps to $0.97. Even when hotel and OTA rates match, hotels still pay $0.89 per click on average.

OTAs help reach a broad audience, but **rate competition inflates marketing costs and squeezes margins**. Experts predict direct bookings via hotel websites will surge by 2030. Hotels will need to **▲ strengthen direct booking channels ▲ optimize ad spend ▲ maintain balanced OTA relationships** to stay profitable.

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**⌨️ News in Brief**

**1️⃣ Vacation Subsidies** [👉 Full story](https://news.kbs.co.kr/news/pc/view/view.do?ncd=8154163&ref=A)

**TL;DR:** Government to subsidize vacation expenses for 150,000 SME workers

**The story:** The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization will recruit companies starting Jan 24 to participate in a "Worker Vacation Support Program." Workers who save ₩200,000 will receive an additional ₩100,000 each from their employer and the government—totaling ₩400,000 in travel funds.

**2️⃣ Travel Ponzi Scheme** [👉 Full story](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/society/11213155)

**TL;DR:** Popular travel community operator vanishes after running Ponzi scheme on members

**The story:** The community operator allegedly promised members "3% monthly returns if you front another member's travel payment." The operator then used new deposits to pay off earlier commitments—classic Ponzi scheme mechanics—before disappearing.

**3️⃣ Seoul Subway as Tourist Attraction** [👉 Full story](https://www.enewstoday.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=2224260)

**TL;DR:** After "random shove" attacks in NYC subway, Seoul subway's safety becomes a talking point

**The story:** Seoul's subway is consistently praised by international travelers. TripAdvisor even recommends riding the Seoul subway as a must-do experience for visitors to Korea.

**4️⃣ Hotel Openings Up, Closings Down** [👉 Full story](https://www.sukbakmagazine.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=63290)

**TL;DR:** Hotel openings trending upward over the past 5 years; closures declining

**The story:** Hotel closures: 989 (2019), 1,038 (2020), 1,242 (2021), 1,170 (2022), 741 (2023), 603 (2024). Closures peaked in 2021 but dropped sharply from 2023 onward.

**5️⃣ CMS for SMB Hotels** [👉 Full story](https://www.etnews.com/20250113000315)

**TL;DR:** HG-CMS officially launched in Korea

**The story:** OaTec's HG-CMS offers enterprise-grade CMS functionality at roughly half the typical price. It integrates seamlessly with global channels including Agoda, Expedia, Trip.com, Airbnb, Booking.com, and HotelsCombined.

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