EPISODE 187

Setting the AI Search Bar: How Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy is Outpacing Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking at Reimagining the OTA


Meet Nitin Sood, Vice President of Innovation at Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy.

Nitin and his team launched the first AI-powered search experience of any travel site so I invited him to come on the show to talk about how they built the tool, how folks are engaging with the experience post-launch, and what they've got cooking up behind the scenes to improve the product.

Tune in to hear Nitin and I discuss:

  • How Marriott built their Search with AI tool
  • What they've learned since allowing users to craft a prompt rather than filter to find a stay
  • What Marriott has planned next to improve its AI search functionality
  • How AI has transformed and will continue to transform the travel industry
  • What the future of determining where to go and when to go there will look like
  • Why he thinks the next generation of OTAs will be a place where folks come to dream about where to go and not just book a stay
  • And so much more

Explore Marriott's AI Search Tool

Connect with Nitin on LinkedIn

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About the Show

Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.

You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.

Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

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