Travel industry leaders have hit out at assertions by Booking.com’s chief executive, Glenn Fogel, that artificial intelligence could replace traditional agents.
The boss of the global accommodation platform told the BBC Today programme: “This is the most transformative type of technology in the world has ever seen.
“AI enables our customers to go to our site, Booking.com. They go to the text box and they can just type in natural language, just like you would be talking to a human travel agent – ‘I’d like to have a hotel that’s a three star, I’d like it to be on the beach with a view of the water and I’d like to have a gym’. It’s so much easier, that natural search, it’s just the simplest thing.”
Mr Fogel then claimed artificial intelligence could find a traveller’s ideal holiday. He said: “We have a thing called the Booking.com AI trip planner, which can go back and forth like you’re having a conversation with a human travel agent.
“It’s not a human travel agent, it’s our AI doing it, but it’s just like you’re dealing with a human travel agent to come up with what really is going to be the best holiday for you.”
But Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “At its heart, travel is and always will be about human connection. It’s about understanding individual needs, crafting experiences that resonate emotionally, and offering a level of care that technology alone cannot replicate.
“This is where the irreplaceable value of a human travel agent shines: combining years of experience, professional insight, and a deep commitment to consumer protection.”
Read more: British Airways says it has slashed delays by using AI
Ashley Quint, director of the Hertfordshire agency Travel Time World, said: “I would suggest that the best travel agents would call the majority of the clients friends, and know what they would like more than they know themselves.
“This kind of technology is only as good as what you feed it, and that could lead it down the wrong avenues. Human agents are pretty good at coming up with left-field suggestions based on their experience and know would be ideal.
“When there’s a problem or emergency…
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