Hotel technology and services company Cendyn has partnered with DirectBooker to make hotel direct-booking rates visible in AI search results.
The launch of Cendyn AI Connect, a new distribution channel within the Cendyn DMP, pushes hotel Availability, Rates and Inventory (ARI) directly into AI search platforms such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini through a Model Context Protocol.
With the ever-growing adoption of AI search for travel planning, hotel owners are becoming increasingly aware of the impact AI will have on business. Currently, AI search platforms largely surface OTA listings, leaving hotels unseen at the exact moment travelers are making decisions. AI Connect ensures hotel direct rates and availability can be surfaced organically when travelers engage with AI trip planners, complementing existing hotel digital strategies by reclaiming visibility on emerging channels, without adding marketing overhead.
By utilizing a direct connection for distribution through an MCP—a new open standard designed to let AI models (like ChatGPT or Claude) connect with external tools, data sources and APIs in a secure and consistent way—Cendyn is making essential hotel information available seamlessly and efficiently to these AI models.
Cendyn is currently inviting hotels to join a group for beta testing. Throughout this beta-phase, Cendyn will start to surface clicks and completed bookings attributed to AI channels as consumers gradually adopt AI search in their travel planning.
“As travelers reshape how they plan and book travel, we need to ensure our customers remain highly visible and are at the forefront of this compelling market shift, while avoiding OTA dependency,” Michael Bennett, CEO & president at Cendyn, said in a statement. “Many hoteliers understand the importance of early adoption, especially given the existing challenges of maintaining visibility in front of travelers, and competing with OTAs to manage cost of acquisition. While we may be seeing AI-driven search bookings starting small, we know it will shape competitive advantage for years to come.”
"Real travelers care about the best value they can get for their trip," said Steve Kaufer, board member, DirectBooker. "This partnership with Cendyn will enable hotels to have a direct line into AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini and be discoverable from the offset—helping to cut out traditional intermediaries. Hoteliers can now embrace the next travel revolution with their best direct rates and availability, visible via our MCP, ready for that moment when their customers are using AI to plan and book their trips."
The release of AI Connect as an additional channel in the Cendyn DMP means hoteliers will be able to track bookings that originate from AI platforms.