#22 - AI Search Revolution: How Hotels Can Beat OTAs & Win Direct

Hotel marketing expert Christine Malfair reveals how AI search is completely disrupting the hospitality industry and what independent hotels must do now to reduce OTA dependency. Learn the strategies that can help you reclaim that $700K+ in annual commission costs.Christine breaks down the essential steps for AI search optimization, from structuring website content for large language models to leveraging Reddit, Wikipedia, and YouTube for maximum visibility. Discover why alignment between marketing and operations teams is critical, how to audit your tech stack for AI readiness, and why booking engines without open APIs could cost you direct reservations.This episode covers the future of hotel distribution, the hidden costs of OTA relationships, and actionable strategies for building direct booking momentum in the age of AI-powered search.