DirectBooker signs five major global hotel chains and goes live with an app in ChatGPT and a connector on Claude, giving hotels a direct path to travelers as AI transforms travel search
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Supplier-aligned aggregator delivers real-time hotel data, member rates, and direct booking benefits to leading consumer AI platforms
Arlington, MA, April 30, 2026 — DirectBooker, the supplier-aligned aggregator connecting hotels directly to AI assistants, today announced two milestones: supply agreements with five major global hotel chains, including BWH Hotels and Radisson Hotel Group, as well as an app in ChatGPT and a connector in Claude, two of the world's leading consumer AI platforms. The agreements span hotels in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa, with additional partners to be unveiled in the coming weeks and months.
The traditional travel search funnel is undergoing its most significant structural change since the rise of online travel agencies. Travelers are increasingly beginning their research in AI tools, and early industry data suggests billions of dollars in hotel bookings are already flowing through this new pattern. The economics of this channel have not yet been locked in, creating an opportunity for hotels to rebalance their distribution mix and reclaim direct customer relationships.
DirectBooker was co-founded by Sanjay Vakil on a thesis first outlined in a paper co-authored with Tripadvisor co-founder Steve Kaufer and former Google Travel GM Richard Holden: the shift to AI-mediated search would open a once-in-a-generation window for hotels to drive more direct bookings, provided a supplier-aligned aggregator existed to connect them to the new channels. DirectBooker provides the AI-native infrastructure for the hotel industry, using Model Context Protocol (MCP) to deliver real-time availability, rates, and inventory to AI platforms. This inventory includes member rates and direct booking benefits that OTAs cannot offer. Consumers are routed directly to hotels' official booking channels so that hotels can act as the merchant of record, provide excellent customer service, and delight their guests.
"For twenty years, hotels have been on the defensive watching OTAs take the top-of-funnel customers and charge 15-25% for the privilege. AI search gives the industry a rare chance to reset that dynamic," said Sanjay Vakil, CEO and cofounder of DirectBooker. "Our partners understand that the moment to build this supplier-aligned infrastructure is now, before OTAs dominate the economics of this channel the way they did with traditional search. The chains signing with DirectBooker are making sure that they have a seat at the table as the AI travel ecosystem is being built."
A Coalition of Global Hotels and Technology Partners
DirectBooker's five signed hotel chain partners include BWH Hotels and Radisson Hotel Group, with additional partners to be unveiled in the coming months. Together, they operate some of the world's most widely used hotel loyalty programs, with hundreds of millions of combined members globally.
"More travelers are using AI every day to plan their next trip, and at BWH® Hotels, we're committed to meeting our guests where they are. That's what makes our partnership with DirectBooker so compelling. Booking direct delivers the greatest value to our guests — access to the best available rates across our 4,000 hotels, along with the richest, most accurate information about our properties and the neighborhoods around them. Partnering with innovative start-ups like DirectBooker allows us to move faster and test bold ideas with disruptors who are reshaping how travelers discover and engage with our brands," said Bill Ryan, Chief Technology Officer of BWH Hotels.
“AI is redefining travel discovery. Through our partnership with DirectBooker, we are strengthening Radisson’s presence across emerging LLM‑powered platforms and unlocking additional exposure via their AI‑native approach, ensuring that our guests find the right Radisson experience wherever their journey starts," said Velit Dundar, Vice President Global Ecommerce at Radisson Hotel Group.
DirectBooker is also working with leading hotel distribution and booking platforms representing tens of thousands of boutique, independent and small-group hotels, including Cendyn, eviivo, Mirai, SiteMinder and Roiback.
"Travel discovery is rapidly shifting toward AI-driven experiences, and hotels need to be visible where decisions are made," said Luke Markesky, Executive Vice President, Operations at Cendyn. "Our partnership with DirectBooker ensures our clients' direct rates are present in these emerging channels, giving them an early advantage while helping reduce reliance on third parties and stay competitive as distribution evolves."
“Independent operators cannot afford to be invisible as search moves to AI platforms,” said Michele Fitzpatrick, CEO of eviivo, “The availability of DirectBooker as a game changing channel means that operators using eviivo’s platform can protect their direct booking revenues at a time when margins are under pressure, while giving them a first-mover advantage in AI-driven discovery. We’re proud to lead this shift, ensuring independent businesses remain visible and competitive as distribution channels rapidly evolve.”
Pablo Delgado, Managing Partner & CEO America of Mirai said, “Through our partnership with DirectBooker, Mirai’s hotel clients will be able to compete for visibility in emerging AI-driven channels, reaching travelers with their direct rates and offers alongside the largest brands, and recovering demand currently intermediated by OTAs.”
A Win for Travelers
The vast majority of travelers prefer to book directly with hotels rather than through intermediaries. DirectBooker's infrastructure is designed to make that path frictionless within AI conversations by surfacing member rates, loyalty benefits, and direct-only offers that travelers cannot access through OTAs, and routing them to the hotel's official booking channel to complete their reservation.
"70% of travelers want to book direct, and our research shows why: better prices, better service, and the peace of mind of dealing with the hotel itself," said Vakil. "This is the dominant, default, and preferred use behavior. The ‘Search Ecosystem’ made this more difficult than it needed to be and I’m excited that AI is making it dramatically easier."
About DirectBooker
DirectBooker.ai is the supplier-aligned aggregator connecting hotels directly to AI assistants and emerging search platforms. Using Model Context Protocol (MCP), the company delivers real-time availability, rates, and inventory data, including member rates and direct booking benefits unavailable on OTAs, to consumer AI platforms including ChatGPT and Claude. All bookings route directly to hotels' official booking channels. Founded by industry veterans from Tripadvisor and Google Travel, DirectBooker is backed by leading travel industry operators and investors.