Or a guest calling and actually reaching someone who knows both the property and their story.
When platforms panic, they cut. This month, Booking.com is actively working to lay off up to 900 Dutch employees, citing the usual suspects: efficiency, reinvestment, and agility. But anyone watching the trend knows what’s really happening:
AI is becoming the convenient scapegoat for cost-cutting—and the mask for a deeper shift in power.
According to a recent LinkedIn Post from Pedro Colaco, this isn’t an isolated move we haven’t seen before.
IBM froze hiring where AI might fill the gaps.
Dropbox axed departments in a rush to “pivot to AI.”
Klarna bragged about chatbot replacements—until customer service collapsed, and they quietly rehired the humans.
Now, Booking.com joins the list.
And in doing so, they unintentionally confirmed what boutique hoteliers and vacation rental brands have felt for months:
Inventory owners are getting smarter with tech.
Brand-first strategies are outperforming faceless OTA listings.
Travelers are going direct, not out of convenience—but because they crave experience.
From the GuestCentric 10 Ways Hotels can increase Direct Bookings blog we learn that according to Kalibri Labs, direct bookings can deliver 9–20% higher profit margins than OTA bookings, making them a critical source of revenue for hotels looking to protect profitability. In fact, hotels that launched targeted “Book Direct” campaigns have seen 15–20% increases in direct bookings, showing that when brands take control of their distribution and messaging, guests respond. The demand is there—but only if you make it easy, personal, and worth the click.
The data doesn’t lie: guests aren’t just finding rooms—they’re looking for resonance.
In the age of digital everything, AI isn’t the threat. Commoditization is.
Platforms are racing toward automation, but what they’re losing is exactly what drives loyalty: the human touch only people can offer.
Things that Booking.com or any OTA for that matter can’t replicate:
The breakfast host who notices your toddler loves strawberries—and adds extra to the plate.
The front desk agent who upgrades a honeymooner—not because an algorithm told them to, but because they felt it was right.
The personalized welcome note in a treehouse glamp-site that reflects your recent Instagram hike.
These aren’t “efficiencies.” They’re differentiators.
And right now, they’re the only edge OTAs can’t replicate.
Let’s be clear: tech isn’t the enemy.
I use AI tools every day—to run influencer marketing programs, power CRM workflows, and streamline the direct booking process. But the goal isn’t to replace the human—it’s to amplify them.
In fact, the best use of AI in hospitality right now is to free your team up to be more human.
What’s the ROI of a welcome smile? Of an unexpected gesture?
Or a guest calling and actually reaching someone who knows both the property and their story.
Try measuring it in return stays, glowing reviews, or that viral post a guest shares because something felt real.
Even in its home country, Booking.com is showing its hand—and it’s not a confident one. In the Netherlands, where the company employs over 5,000 people, it’s pressing ahead with a sweeping reorganization plan that unions have flatly rejected. Despite posting $5.9 billion in profit and 11% revenue growth, the company is cutting leadership roles and offering what labor groups describe as vague justifications and inadequate support—especially for international staff who may now be forced to leave the country. Behind the corporate language of “efficiency” lies a quiet scramble to protect margins—not by innovating, but by erasing people. Why? Here’s what many speculate.
Big platforms are scared. Not of AI, but of independents finally getting their act together.
Guests are smarter. They know when they’re being pushed into an upsell funnel versus when they’re being genuinely welcomed.
Your brand is your moat. Not your tech stack, not your channel mix—your story.
To understand where we go from here, it helps to listen to those with a front-row seat to the changes happening across hospitality.
Pedro Colaco, CEO of GuestCentric, recently addressed the Booking.com layoffs with a powerful reminder: this moment isn’t just about platforms restructuring—it’s about independents refocusing.
Pedro’s perspective is clear:
“AI wins on efficiency. But emotion still is what converts and no algorithm can replace intuition — it should amplify it. So, I think hoteliers should double down on creating offers/campaigns that really resonate with specific segments.”
In other words, use AI to enhance your marketing, not replace the human insight behind it. Success now depends on knowing your guest better than any platform algorithm ever could.
He goes on to say:
“Tech shouldn’t compete with hospitality. It should disappear behind it. The best tech won’t impress the guest. It will simply reduce friction so the staff can be more present, and the experience can be more personal.”
That’s the blueprint for what comes next.
So while Booking.com and others chase efficiency, boutique hoteliers and STR brands have a different path:
Invest in tools that disappear behind the guest experience, not dominate it.
Create campaigns and offers that connect emotionally, not just convert.
Use tech to amplify intuition, not override it.
And above all, own the guest relationship before the platforms circle back.
The future isn’t about who can automate more.
It’s about who can use technology to stay intelligently human—and make every guest feel it.