Guests are asking. Who owns the answer?

More trips are planned by asking, not just browsing

Think about how your next guest finds you. More and more, they don’t just open ten tabs and compare room pages. They ask. Is it good for a family with a toddler? Can we walk to the beach? Is breakfast included?

• Is there somewhere quiet to work, and is the wifi good enough for video calls?
• Yes. The library lounge is quiet all day and the wifi handles video calls easily. Here’s what’s included in your rate.

The research says this shift is already well underway. A study of US leisure travellers by Mindtrip with Sabre, Sojern and MMGY Travel Intelligence found:

“We’re witnessing the biggest shift in travel planning since online booking transformed the industry.”

Our view is simple. Asking is the new discovery channel. The hotel that answers well, first and in its own voice is the one most likely to earn the booking.

Are you renting your own guests?

Hotels have spent years fighting for the direct booking. Online travel agencies bring reach, at a price. Commissions tend to run 15 to 25 percent of the room rate, as hotelier Robert Rauch sets out in Hotel Online.

The bigger cost is quieter. When a guest books and asks their questions somewhere else, the relationship goes with them. As Rauch puts it, without the guest’s email address the hotel has very little chance at a direct repeat stay.

“Hotels that once ‘owned’ the relationship are finding themselves renting access to their own customers, at a rising cost.”

And that’s before AI assistants start answering on your behalf, from whatever they happen to have found about you.

Every question is guest data. Who’s collecting it?

A question is more than a question. It tells you who’s coming, when, why and what they’re worried about. The family checking the pool depth. The couple asking about late check out. The group asking how to get there from the station.

Right now many of those questions are asked on third party sites, in AI chats and in search results that never send a click your way. Pew Research Center tracked the browsing of 900 US adults and found they clicked a traditional search result in 8% of Google visits that showed an AI summary, against 15% of visits without one.

“Third parties know more about traveler behavior than many hotels know about their own guests.”

That’s the gap, and owning the question closes it. When guests ask on your own website, booking pages, QR codes in the room and messages before arrival, every question becomes your own first party insight. You see demand forming, spot what’s missing from your pages and know what to offer before the guest asks.

The first clear answer often gets the booking

Travellers decide in small moments. Late at night with the dates finally agreed. On the train with the flights already booked. A clear answer with the obvious next step keeps them with you: book the room, add the transfer, reserve the table.

A form that promises a reply tomorrow can send them straight back to the comparison site.

Keep your team for the moments that matter

Answering instantly doesn’t mean replacing your front desk or concierge. It means they stop answering the same questions about parking and check in times all day.

The anniversary surprise, the accessibility need, the guest who’s had a long journey. Those go to a person, with the details already attached, so your team can make the moments guests remember.

Five things to do before peak season

None of this needs a new system on day one. It starts with the questions you already get.

1. Collect your real questions.From reservations, the front desk, emails, reviews and OTA messages. Much of the volume usually comes from a familiar set.
2. Agree one source of truth.Rates, inclusions, policies and local tips, each with one approved answer.
3. Answer where guests ask.Your website and booking engine, pre arrival emails, QR codes in the room and across the property.
4. Design the handover.Decide which requests always go to a person, and which team picks them up.
5. Read the questions every week.They show you what to fix, what to offer and what guests want next.

Own the question

Owning the question means three things. The answer comes from you, in your voice. The next step leads to your booking, not someone else’s. And what the guest asked stays with you, ready to shape the next stay.

That’s the new discovery channel. Many of your next guests are already using it.

If you’d like to see it with your own rooms, rates and local knowledge, book a 30 minute demo or see how the Digital Experts platform works for hotels and tourism.