Quick answer: how is AI changing hotel discovery?
Generative AI and semantic search are shifting hotel discovery from "which city?" to "what kind of stay?" According to Vikram Challur, Senior Vice President of Hotel Supply at MakeMyTrip and Goibibo, speaking at a REVnexperts REVclass on 6 October 2026, travellers increasingly search by the purpose of their stay, and platforms can now respond to experience-based queries instead of city names alone.
What is destination-agnostic search?
Traditional OTA search was built around a destination: type a city, see hotels. Destination-agnostic search starts from the guest's intent. Vikram's example was a query for hotels within 300 kilometres that have a swimming pool and a balcony. The result can send traffic to places the guest had never considered.
For hotels in lesser-known locations, that is an opening. For hotels that rely on a famous address, it is a warning.
What do AI systems read in your reviews?
More than star ratings. Vikram explained that generative AI can parse thousands of hotel reviews and pull out specific experiential details, such as the quality of a particular dish like butter chicken, rather than staff names or generic praise.
The lesson is practical. A review that says "lovely stay" tells an AI very little. A review that mentions the sunrise yoga, the plunge pool or the chef's tasting evening gives it something to recommend.
How does this change your competitive set?
Vikram's point was that guest experience and purpose of travel increasingly decide who your competitor really is. A couple celebrating an occasion and searching for plunge-pool rooms may compare a luxury resort with a city landmark hotel, even though they sit in different places.
The implication: a comp set defined only by geography may no longer reflect how guests choose. It is worth revisiting around guest intent and experience.
Why do short videos matter for hotel discovery?
Content consumption has moved from text to pictures, to video, and now to 15-to-30-second reels. Vikram said discovery, experience sharing and credibility building rely heavily on this format, so a property has a very brief window to tell its story.
Experience matters because guests want it. According to the Outlook Traveller / WanderSafe Report 2025, cited at the session, 54% of Indian travellers want experience-led trips. Vikram's advice was to show multi-day itineraries, such as morning beach yoga, chef-curated cooking sessions, evening shows or safaris, rather than just listing room availability.
What can hotels do now?
These are our suggestions, built on the speaker's points:
• Describe experiences specifically in your OTA listing and on your website.
• Encourage reviews that name what guests actually did and enjoyed.
• Add a short video itinerary of a typical guest stay.
• Revisit your comp set around guest purpose, not only location.
Key takeaways
• Guests increasingly search by purpose, not by city.
• AI can extract specific experiences from reviews, so specific content and reviews win.
• Your true competitors may be defined by experience, not geography.
• Short video itineraries carry hotel stories better than room lists.
FAQs
What is intent-based or destination-agnostic hotel search?
It is search that starts from the purpose of the stay, such as a pool and balcony within 300 kilometres, rather than from a city name.
How does generative AI use hotel reviews?
It can read thousands of reviews and extract specific experiences, such as a standout dish, instead of generic comments.
Should hotels change their competitive set because of AI search?
According to the session, competition is increasingly set by guest intent and experience, so reviewing your comp set around those factors is worthwhile.
What content works best for hotel discovery?
Short videos and itineraries that show what guests actually do at the property.
About this article: drawn from the REVclass "Inside Hotel-OTA Partnerships: What Drives Visibility, Conversion and Growth," hosted by REVnexperts on 6 October 2026, with speaker Vikram Challur.
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