Travel technology
Product decisions in travel tech, and where tools meet how travelers actually decide.
Nobody wants the blank box
The industry is building conversational interfaces on the premise that travelers want to express intent in free text. The evidence from two decades of booking-flow optimization says they want to be shown options and to verify them, and the context that would make free text work sits with the assistants, while the operator starts at zero on every session.
05 Feb 2026The tab problem is real, the conclusion is wrong
Scattered research tabs are cited as proof the market wants a single travel planning tool. But travelers cross-verify because the purchase is expensive and important, planning is idiosyncratic, and the purchase is too infrequent to anchor a mass-market planning product.
04 Feb 2026AI itinerary tools resolve logistics faster than judgment
Generated itineraries look complete while the actual decision, what kind of experience the traveler is seeking, stays unresolved. Hotels get slotted in as interchangeable stops, and the gap shows up long before booking begins.
31 Jan 2026Price stops functioning as a signal when recognition has formed
In peak periods some hotels operate far above the median without testing elasticity, because travelers arrive already knowing what they want. The driver is prior understanding formed upstream of pricing, not amenities or service tiers.
