--- title: "Who Wins Online Travel in the AI Era?" description: "AI is fundamentally reshaping the competitive landscape of online travel. The fight to watch: airlines and hotels vs. OTAs." published: 2025-04-07T00:00:00+00:00 author: "ONDA 편집팀" category: "Weekly ON" image: "https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/67f50ad397136867f6248971_WeeklyON_vol149_webflow_cover_1200px.png" canonical: https://global.onda.me/en/blog?slug=weeklyon-vol-149 locale: en --- # Who Wins Online Travel in the AI Era? ⚠️ All rights reserved. Cite this piece as 'ONDA (온다)' when quoting. --- #### **In this issue of Weekly ON** 🏨 Who wins online travel in the AI era? 💡 Want to become an Airbnb Superhost? You'd better keep up with the updates ⌨️ #President impeached #Trip.com Top 5 #Hanatour H-AI #Yanolja earnings #Travel revenue up profit down --- **🏠 Industry Deep Dive** ### **Who Wins Online Travel in the AI Era? Airlines & Hotels vs. OTAs** The online travel market is [projected to reach $197 billion by 2032](https://event.stibee.com/v2/click/NTU2OTkvMjczNjEyNy8yMzU1OS8/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ2xvYmVuZXdzd2lyZS5jb20vbmV3cy1yZWxlYXNlLzIwMjUvMDQvMDEvMzA1MzI0MS8wL2VuL09ubGluZS1UcmF2ZWwtTWFya2V0LXRvLVJlYWNoLVVTRC0xOTcwLW1pbGxpb24tYnktMjAzMi1BaXJibmItVHJpdmFnby1UaG9tYXMtQ29vay5odG1s), growing at roughly 9% annually. Meanwhile, **AI is fundamentally reshaping the competitive landscape**. The fight to watch: on one side, airlines and hotels—direct suppliers pushing to control the customer relationship. On the other, OTAs like Expedia and Booking.com, which have long dominated distribution. It's a fascinating showdown. ![](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/67f22a38a703b14379301353_ChatGPT_Image_2025_4_6_03_47_30.png) ### **The direct booking counterattack: airlines and hotels strike back** One of the most visible shifts in travel right now is **airlines and hotels reducing their dependence on OTAs** and strengthening their own direct booking channels. According to Introspective Market Research, this trend poses a "serious challenge" to OTAs. [Hilary Cook, VP of Global Marketing Orchestration at Marriott International](https://event.stibee.com/v2/click/NTU2OTkvMjczNjEyNy8yMzU1OS8/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGRhaWx5LmNvLmtyL3BhZ2Uvdmlldy8yMDI1MDMyMDA4NDc1MzI0ODQx), shared that "our existing campaigns now deliver over 500,000 content variations with AI, and we're scaling to 2 million. Time-to-market has dropped 70%." She added, "This helped us exceed our annual revenue targets by more than 6x." Marriott's AI doesn't stop at marketing—it extends to **personalized experiences that encourage business travelers to lengthen their stays**. When booking, business guests receive notifications about stay-extension perks, then get follow-up emails with point bonuses and local activity discounts. Airlines and hotels are using AI to **personalize the customer experience, strengthen loyalty programs, and offer exclusive deals**—all to pull travelers toward direct channels. This isn't just about saving OTA commissions. It gives suppliers direct access to customer data, which powers even more sophisticated AI-driven services. Importantly, **the democratization of AI** means mid-tier hotels and regional airlines can now offer the kind of personalized service that used to be the exclusive domain of big OTAs. This shift is weakening OTA business models and moving customer loyalty back toward airlines and hotels. But OTAs aren't sitting still. They're **combining decades of data with AI to double down on their strengths**. So how, exactly, are they competing? ### 👉[****](https://event.stibee.com/v2/click/NTU2OTkvMjczNjEyNy8yMzU1OS8/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub25kYS5tZS9ibG9nL2FpLXNpZGFlLW9ucmFpbi15ZW9oYWVuZ3lpLXBhZWd3ZW9uZXVuLWhhbmdnb25nc2EtaG90ZWwtdnMtb3RhP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c3RpYmVlJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXItMjAyNV8wNF8wNw) --- **💡 Hospitality Trends** ### **Want to become an Airbnb Superhost? You'd better keep up with the updates** [**👉\[Full story\]**](https://event.stibee.com/v2/click/NTU2OTkvMjczNjEyNy8yMzU1OS8/aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLmFpcmJuYi5jb20va28vZ2xvYmFscXVhbGl0eXJlcG9ydC8) **TL;DR:** Airbnb's Global Quality Report highlights what makes a Superhost. Over 250 million bookings now happen through "Guest Favorite" listings—averaging a 4.92-star rating. Airbnb has released its Global Quality Report, outlining what sets Superhosts apart. Since the launch of the **"Guest Favorite" system** in late 2023, **over 250 million bookings** have been made through listings with this badge globally, and **these listings average 4.92 stars**. Over the past three years, Airbnb has rolled out 535+ new features and upgrades to improve service quality. To tackle host cancellations, it adjusted default booking settings and introduced new pricing tools. The result: **host cancellation rates dropped by 30% globally and 43% in Korea**. The Superhost program has also grown. Last year, the number of Superhosts increased 15% globally and 22% in Korea—an all-time high. **Korea now has over 15,000 Superhosts**. To build trust, Airbnb introduced identity verification, party-prevention screening tech, and guest history checks. In 2023, it overhauled its hosting quality system and deactivated over 400,000 substandard listings, which led to a **15% drop in quality-related support tickets**. In Korea specifically, Airbnb began requiring **business registration documents for new listings** in October 2024. Starting October 2025, this requirement will apply to existing listings as well. Airbnb stated: "With over 1 million guests checking in every day, we'll continue innovating to deliver positive experiences for both guests and hosts." --- **⌨️ In the News** **1️⃣ President impeached** [👉\[Full story\]](https://event.stibee.com/v2/click/NTU2OTkvMjczNjEyNy8yMzU1OS8/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hvc3VuLmNvbS9uYXRpb25hbC9jb3VydF9sYXcvMjAyNS8wNC8wNC9TVUlEWkJNSllSSE4zQ0tNUUVIUUNPRlNSQS8) **TL;DR:** Former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who declared martial law, has been impeached by the Constitutional Court. **The story:** The respondent's violations of law had a severe negative impact on the constitutional order, and the resulting ripple effects are significant. The benefits of upholding the Constitution through impeachment far outweigh the national losses resulting from the president's removal. Therefore, with the unanimous opinion of all justices, the ruling is announced. Ruling: Former President Yoon Suk-yeol is impeached. **2️⃣ Trip.com in top 5** [👉\[Full story\]](https://event.stibee.com/v2/click/NTU2OTkvMjczNjEyNy8yMzU1OS8/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZWRhaWx5LmNvLmtyL05ld3MvUmVhZD9uZXdzSWQ9MDE0NTMwNDY2NDIxMzI4NDA) **TL;DR:** Korea ranks in the top 5 globally for hotel bookings on Trip.com. **The story:** Korea's travel bookings on Trip.com surged 64.6% year-over-year, driven by the platform's AI travel assistant and member perks. Trip.com's "Hello Korea" campaign positions Korea as a cultural destination, and the company expects a further boost in demand from Chinese tourists once visa-free policies are implemented. **3️⃣ Hanatour H-AI** [👉\[Full story\]](https://event.stibee.com/v2/click/NTU2OTkvMjczNjEyNy8yMzU1OS8/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZXRuZXdzLmNvbS8yMDI1MDQwMTAwMDI2NQ) **TL;DR:** Hanatour launches proactive AI service 'H-AI.' **The story:** H-AI initiates conversations with customers, recommending products and offering personalized consultations—resulting in a 1,000%+ increase in user engagement compared to traditional chatbots. Hanatour plans to enhance its AI service brand, integrate AI across all travel services, and eventually introduce AI agents to streamline internal operations. **4️⃣ Yanolja 2024 earnings** [👉\[Full story\]](https://event.stibee.com/v2/click/NTU2OTkvMjczNjEyNy8yMzU1OS8/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaGFua3l1bmcuY29tL2FydGljbGUvMjAyNTAzMzEwNjUzZw) **TL;DR:** Revenue hit ₩924.5 billion and operating profit ₩49.2 billion—up 22% and 1,782% year-over-year, respectively. **The story:** Yanolja's global gross transaction value (GTV) reached ₩27 trillion, up 186% year-over-year—a record high. The enterprise solutions segment expanded successfully in global markets, while the consumer platform maintained steady growth. Yanolja said it will continue to enhance AI capabilities and expand globally to drive sustained growth and profitability. **5️⃣ Travel revenue up, profit down** [👉\[Full story\]](https://event.stibee.com/v2/click/NTU2OTkvMjczNjEyNy8yMzU1OS8/aHR0cDovL3RyYXZlbHRpbWVzLmNvLmtyL25ld3MvYXJ0aWNsZVZpZXcuaHRtbD9pZHhubz00MTE1ODE) **TL;DR:** Revenue climbed, but rising operating costs and high exchange rates hurt profitability. **The story:** Despite a string of challenges—recession, natural disasters, the TMON/WeMakePrice crisis, plane crashes, and political instability—travel demand quietly kept rising. But profitability suffered. Headcount at publicly traded travel and airline companies inched up slightly, though the gap in average salary growth between travel agencies and airlines widened significantly. ---