If AI books the trip, who gets paid? | Mike Coletta from Phocuswright

If an AI agent books the trip, who gets the booking - and who gets paid? In this archive episode of the Everything AI in Travel podcast, I speak with Mike Coletta, then Senior Manager of Research and Innovation at Phocuswright, about generative AI, digital identity and the choices facing travel businesses. We use the research he discusses to explore operations, the in-destination experience, distribution and marketing, without pretending the future has already been decided. Got a travel problem AI might solve? Find the AI you need: tell me what's frustrating you and I'll personally introduce you to someone who can help. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdVYizRw_UgfX9CpvkeUmkpOeRGFj_iiF0W2KmX_EECIqSUsA/viewform Recorded on 26 February 2025. Roles, product examples, research availability and event invitations reflect that time. Forecasts are views discussed in the recording, not current guarantees. The conversation about European digital-identity requirements is exploratory and is not current legal or hotel check-in advice. We dig into: ☎️ What an agent-to-agent hotel-booking demo suggests about future customer contact 🪪 How a digital wallet could carry preferences and credentials with the traveller's permission 🔐 Why trust and adoption matter as much as technical capability 🏢 How autonomous agents could change company operations and staffing 🤖 Whether travel suppliers will need agents of their own to handle incoming requests 🗣️ Real-time voice, translation and vision as possible tools for exploring a destination 👣 Why AI assistance and a human guide need not be an either-or choice 💰 Why the economics of advertising, commissions and subscriptions may shape distribution 🏨 The competing cases for intermediaries and direct supplier bookings 🔎 What changing search behaviour could mean for travel marketing 📊 The value of separating research findings from predictions about what comes next 🧪 Why smaller operators should learn and experiment rather than wait for certainty One of the most interesting ideas from this conversation is that better personalisation does not automatically mean a fairer distribution model. An agent might know what a traveller wants and still operate within an advertising or commission-funded system. Mike lays out the competing possibilities: intermediaries can make selection and booking easier, while other business models could give an agent a reason to go directly to the supplier. That makes the commercial model worth watching alongside the technology. Who funds the agent, what it can access and how easily it can complete a booking all influence where the customer ends up. For operators, the in-destination discussion raises a different question. AI may help people translate, understand their surroundings or explore independently. Human connection and the stories a good guide brings still matter, but growth in travel does not necessarily reach every type of experience equally. The practical response we discuss is education and experimentation. The report's forecasts are a starting point for asking better questions about your business, not a reason to assume one outcome is inevitable. Archive episode. Recording-date metadata uses 26 February 2025, the Descript project-created date. The webinars and conferences mentioned belong to the original recording period. Enjoyed it? Subscribe so you don't miss the next one, and share this episode with someone in travel who'd get something from it. Want the weekly version? The Everything AI in Travel newsletter: https://everythingaiintravel.beehiiv.com/subscribe #EverythingAIInTravel #MikeColetta #Phocuswright #AIInTravel #TravelTech #AIAgents #DigitalIdentity #TravelDistribution #TravelMarketing #TourOperators