Airbnb, Uber, Booking, Hilton: The Risks That AI Pose on Business

02.03.2024 - 13:35 / skift.com / Justin Dawes

Executives at companies like Airbnb and Booking Holdings have been talking for over a year about plans to implement the latest advances in artificial intelligence.

The CEO of Airbnb, in particular, made multiple mentions in the latest earnings call about how AI could fundamentally change the way the company operates — a topic he has discussed many times.

Executives tend of focus on the positives when talking about generative AI.

Companies were more candid in annual reports published over the past month. While they highlight worst-case scenarios, it’s the first time so many travel companies have made such pointed statements about the risks of AI.

Below are the biggest AI-related threats that travel giants are keeping an eye on, according to those reports. 

The latest advances in AI have led travel giants to explore how they can strengthen operations, streamline business processes, and release new customer products. 

Meanwhile, the buzz has inspired the birth of new travel startups, like trip planners and software for back-office tasks. 

Industry incumbents are aware of the competition among one another and the startups that seek to push them out or get acquired. 

Booking Holdings: “The competitive pressure to innovate could encompass a wider range of services and technologies, including services and technologies that may be outside of our historical core business, and our ability to keep pace may slow. Emerging start-ups may be able to innovate and focus on developing a particularly new product or service faster than we can or may foresee consumer need for new services or technologies before we do.”

Hyatt: “Our competitors or other third parties may incorporate AI into their offerings more quickly or more successfully than us, which could impair our ability to compete effectively and adversely affect our results of operations. Our competition may have access to greater financial and technological resources, giving them a competitive advantage in recruiting, motivating, and retaining sought-after AI professionals.” 

Tripadvisor: “In July 2023, we launched an AI-powered travel itinerary generator which creates personalized travel itineraries using OpenAI’s generative artificial intelligence technology…There is no guarantee that our itinerary generator or other artificial intelligence focused initiatives will be competitive or attract more consumers to our platform.”

There’s been a big push from governments, particularly in the U.S. and the European Union, for more strict regulations around what AI companies are allowed to do. The Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence is an executive order by the U.S. presdient meant to produce guidelines for the development and use