Travel Market Insights
Booking Trends, AI Tools, and the New Rules of Travel Planning
Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, August 1. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Amadeus believes its partnership with Google Flights will boost the travel technology company’s airline business, reports Executive Editor Dennis Schaal.
Amadeus CEO Luis Maroto said on Thursday the partnership, which was announced in May, is designed to help his company attract more airline customers. Google’s QPX flight offer management system and Google Flights are being integrated with Amadeus’ airline platform, Nevio.
Schaal notes the collaboration, which also involves Google Cloud and its AI tech, comes after a failed partnership between Amadeus and ITA Software that started in 1998 and ended in a messy breakup.
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Next, Americans are traveling in large numbers again, and Skift Research’s latest report reveals how they’re planning and booking trips is changing fast, writes Senior Research Analyst Varsha Arora.
Skift Research’s U.S. Traveler Trends 2025 report revealed two-thirds of Americans have taken at least one overnight trip this year — the highest share in six years, with leisure travel continuing to dominate. More than half of U.S. travelers book directly via social media links.
Arora writes the adoption of AI tools like ChatGPT has transformed travel planning significantly, as one-third of U.S. travelers are using AI assistants extensively to research, plan, and book. Meanwhile, direct bookings have fallen substantially since 2020 while online travel agencies have staged a quiet comeback in recent years.
Finally, Booking Holdings says the company’s ads in Google are performing well despite concerns that AI would represent the death knell for Google travel search, writes Executive Editor Dennis Schaal.
Booking Holdings Chief Financial Officer Ewout Steenbergen said this week the company has seen an increase in clicks upon placing ads in Google for its core accommodations business. Steenbergen added Booking would like to diversify its performance marketing channels, similar to what it’s already done with social media.
Booking’s marketing spend in social media rose 25% in the second quarter from last year.
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Key Points
- Delta Air Lines clarified it does not use AI to set individualized airfares based on personal data, following criticism from lawmakers.
- The airline uses AI, via a partnership with Fetcherr, to assist in dynamic pricing for a growing portion of its domestic flights, but claims all fares are determined by market dynamics and are publicly available.
- Lawmakers and officials have expressed concerns about potential predatory or ‘surveillance’ pricing, prompting Delta to stress its commitment to fair, competitive pricing and data privacy.
Summary
Delta Air Lines has publicly stated that it does not use AI to set individualized prices based on personal customer data, responding to recent criticism and inquiries from U.S. lawmakers. The airline acknowledged using AI technology, through a partnership with Fetcherr, to assist analysts in setting fares for a portion of its domestic flights, with plans to expand this use. However, Delta emphasized that fares are determined by market competition, not personal data, and all prices are transparently published, aiming to dispel concerns about privacy and potential predatory pricing.
Some of the world’s largest hotel companies saw their earnings dented by currency swings in the first half of 2025, as euro and baht-reporting groups absorbed losses while U.S.-based chains appeared largely insulated from the volatility.
Accor, Meliá Hotels, and Minor International all reported currency-related losses that offset solid operational performance. Meanwhile, U.S.-based Hilton and Wyndham, which report in dollars, did not mention foreign exchange impacts in their earnings calls and appeared shielded from the same pressures.
The U.S. dollar index dropped 10.8% in the first half of 2025 following the Trump administration’s April tariffs and public clashes with the Federal Reserve. The resulting investor pullback caused the dollar to weaken sharply against the euro, baht, and other currencies.
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