[ugh123]

My dream is to have a real AI-powered travel agent that would do all the discovery stuff per my constraints and selections and then book reservations (where needed) for anything. The AI agent would fill out all the necessary online forms or make calls and collect confirmations. Then it would present me with my itinerary which I can ask it to change at any time.

[fatherzine]

These days I purposefully avoid as much travel research as possible, and intently choose to immerse in the place and moment instead. I'm happy to miss that 4.97 stars dinner place, and instead enjoy interacting with a less-than-Instagram-perfect dinner & perhaps some flesh-and-bones human company.

[stavros]

I'm not sure this dichotomy isn't false. I can enjoy the best restaurants a city has to offer without Instagram having anything to do with it, and research doesn't preclude me from having flesh-and-bones company. There may be a good argument for not doing research, but I don't think these are it.

[fatherzine]

Possibly. I'm alluding to the spiritual disposition that expects 4.97 stars or bust. In relationship terms this often maps to expecting the perfect dinner company. When the actual company disappointingly fails to meet that standard, they are summarily dismissed, and the whole experience turns into superficial theater of appearances.

[stavros]

Yeah, that's definitely a phenomenon that can be harmful, as you describe. Still, this seems to be going from one extreme to the other. I guess "everything in moderation" is good advice here too.

[fragmede]

But how much are you willing to pay for this service?

because it's not like human travel agents don't exist today, just like human drivers exist today. Does having an AI book the tickets for you meaningfully change the things for you, the customer?

[littlestymaar]

Since it's automated, it could cost less than a dollar per booking, orders of magnitude less than what a travel agent could offer.

[ugh123]

>Does having an AI book the tickets for you meaningfully change the things for you, the customer?

Of course it does. You don't think replacing humans in the full service travel industry wouldn't drive down costs and upgrade capabilities and experience could be a thing?

[fragmede]

The industry, obviously. How does that affect the customer experience though? If call up my travel agent and have them book a vacation for me, what's the difference between that and calling TravelGPT and having it book a vacation for me?

[tony_landis]

I’m curious what are you thinking the advantages of using an AI only agent for this? For example, compared to Anywhere.com, where human experts are the agents.

[ugh123]

I just took a look at it. Seems to focus only on a handful of international spots plus now it's asking me to book a 30 minute meeting with someone. I don't mind filling in preferences and whatnot, but once you introduce a human to the mix I feel like i'm at the whim and mercy of that 1 person with their skillset, communication ability, attitude, business motivations, etc.

[ugh123]

I did a bit more research. Seems they make their money from tours and hotels they work with which typically leads to shittier value for the customer.

I want my ai to have as little financial incentive for itself and only maximize my needs. I'd pay for THAT.

[sebastiennight]

You do realize though that in terms of the business model, having the AI partner with select resorts and tour guides is a much more lucrative business model for the AI tour planning company?

In the end, you'll end up with Booking.com with extra steps:

"Perfect, ugh123! I've got just the hotel for you! It's the Marriott Grand Paradise, our top partner hotel. It is only 45 miles away from the specific address you requested and just barely $150 over budget per night, but they have a 4.9 rating, and with their Top Partner status, you earn 10 BookiePoints by booking there. Hurry, 33 people have booked a room there in the last hour! Do you confirm? Whoops, one more booking just now, only one room left! Do you want to save yours now?"

[hhh]

what's their cut on something like that?

[audiala]

How would you like to specify your constraints? We are working on this exact problem (not there yet).