Sam Altman of OpenAI Tells Every Hotel Marketer the Future

Will ChatGPT end up introducing an ad model or pay-per-click for hotels and the travel industry? That's not the goal according to the CEO.

Sam Altman was on Tyler Cowen's podcast, Conversations with Tyler, and a surprisingly long portion of it was about the future of hotels, travel, and booking in ChatGPT. The pull quote:

“I think the way to monetize the world’s smartest model is certainly not hotel booking. …I’m happy for OpenAI to do some things that are not the economic-maxing thing.” -- Sam Altman, Progress Conference

Let's take Sam at his word and consider the implications:

1. Trust beats pay-to-play.
   
   “If ChatGPT were accepting payment to put a worse hotel above a better hotel, that’s probably catastrophic for your relationship with ChatGPT."
   
   If this is the case: The assistant’s job is to give “the best answer,” not sell the top slot--so verifiable facts outrank marketing. The goal is to deliver comprehensive content the way AI likes to read it, where it reads.
   
   
2. If assistants handle discover through checkout in one flow, today’s tolls get squeezed.
   
   “Margins are going to go dramatically down on most goods and services, including things like hotel bookings… most companies… will make more money at a lower margin.”
   
   If this is the case: We can disintermediate the OTAs. Their business model requires larger commisions. But you have to own your AI purchase rails. Travel commerce is a feature, not OpenAI’s business model--expect openness and prepare your tech accordingly.
   
   
3. AI will check out in application. Your website is the brochure.
   
   OpenAI's strategy is to “put a really great superintelligence in the hands of everybody… We connect it to all your services.”
   
   If this is the case: Here's the fun one, and it will take getting used to. Guests will plan the trip in ChatGPT, Google's AI Mode, or Claude. Maybe over weeks. But these applications will be a single point of connection for your services. Payment will be a single button, in app!
   
   This one is the big change with massive second order effects. Hotel websites will be built for the guest. They're about desire. But the hotel will be purchased in a larger cart that contains the entire itinerary. Your AI tools must work off your website to enable purchase.
   

One final thought on "what if they launch ads anyway?" Does this change anything?

I don't think so. Just like Performance Max and Search Ads doesn't mean you forget about your website and other channels, an ad product in ChatGPT (or other AI search tool) doesn't mean you can ignore selling direct too. You still need to be findable and bookable in chat. So prepare for both futures, but if you believe Sam, distribution costs might be falling fast, and soon!