Marriott's CEO Says AI Platforms Lean Toward Ads, Not Booking Fees

Google has added hotel booking to its AI search with Marriott as a partner, yet Marriott CEO Tony Capuano told analysts that several AI platforms seeking revenue lean toward advertising rather than charging for bookings.

That split decides how a hotel company pays for a guest who finds it through AI: as advertising, or as a charge on the booking itself. Capuano did not say how many Marriott bookings now come through AI platforms, or what Marriott spends to appear on them.

Discovery first, booking later

The question came from Morgan Stanley analyst Stephen Grambling on Marriott’s third-quarter earnings call: how would agentic AI change distribution? “Right now, our view is that AI is largely reshaping travel discovery,” Capuano answered. Booking may feel the same effect one day, he added, but more slowly.

Capuano said it is too early to judge what AI will do to distribution costs. A number of the platforms that want to make money are leaning toward “more traditional advertising monetization as opposed to booking,” he said, though some have begun to “dip their toes” into booking.

“Intuition would suggest it would be compelling from an economic perspective for our owners,” Capuano said. “But I think that’s a story that largely remains to be told.”

What is Marriott testing?

Marriott is shaping how its hotels show up in AI-generated answers, and it is feeding AI platforms accurate, detailed content about its portfolio. It is also introducing its own conversational AI feature, Ask Bonvoy.

On other companies’ platforms, Marriott is trying out search and commerce tie-ups with Google and OpenAI, Capuano said. Marriott gave no usage figures for any of these efforts.

Its direct line to guests is the loyalty program. Marriott Bonvoy has about 309 million members, and Capuano said it drives direct bookings for the owners of Marriott’s more than 10,200 properties.

What will the platforms charge?

In August, Google said it was rolling out hotel booking in AI Mode, its conversational search, in the U.S. with 10 partners that include Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Booking.com and Expedia. A traveler checks out with Google Pay, and the hotel or booking site remains the merchant of record and handles customer service.

Google’s remarks to investors in October set out the order: the best Search experience first, “followed by monetization.” Google has not said what its hotel partners will pay for a reservation made in AI Mode.

Which line in a hotel company’s 2027 budget carries the guest an AI platform sends: marketing or commissions?