SiteMinder just announced it can push your hotel's live rates into ChatGPT and Claude so travelers can "discover" you through AI. Before you celebrate a new demand channel, ask yourself who owns that guest relationship once the machines start negotiating.
SiteMinder just opened its distribution pipes to ChatGPT and Claude so travelers can find and book hotel rooms through AI conversations. The question nobody's asking is what happens when that AI-generated booking hits your PMS at 2 AM and nobody knows where it came from.
Expedia's new survey confirms what every hotel technologist suspected but vendors won't admit: travelers love AI for browsing and dreaming, but when it's time to enter a credit card number, they want a brand they trust. The implications for where independents spend their next dollar on technology are significant... and mostly ignored.
SiteMinder just plugged 53,000 hotels into AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude so travelers can search, compare, and book without ever touching a browser. If you're an independent operator who spent years building your direct booking strategy, the ground just shifted under you.
