Setting the AI Search Bar: How Homes & Villas by Marriott 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

This episode is brought to you by our friends at AirDNA

Want to see if a Treehouse resort in Dubai pencils?  You can do so in AirDNA.

Want to buy land in Ontario to build a Glamping resort?  AirDNA will show you how other, comparable products are performing in the region.

Or maybe you’ve already got your stay up and running and you want a better understanding of how your Airbnb compares to others in the market?  You can connect your listing to AirDNA and get accurate nightly pricing recommendations based on real-world, real-time demand.

AirDNA is the key you need to unlock the insight behind what it’s going to take to bring those big dreams you have to life.

Pay just $25/month and access ANY market in the world — AirDNA is cheaper, faster, better, and stronger to use than ever before. 

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.