59 min

Setting the AI Search Bar: How Homes & Villas by Marriott is Outpacing Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking at Reimagining the OTA Behind the Stays

    • Entrepreneurship

Meet Nitin Sood, Vice President of Innovation at Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy.
Nitin and his team launched the first AI-powered search experience of any travel site so I invited him to come on the show to talk about how they built the tool, how folks are engaging with the experience post-launch, and what they’ve got cooking up behind the scenes to improve the product. 
Tune in to hear Nitin and I discuss:
How Marriott built their Search with AI tool 
What they’ve learned since allowing users to craft a prompt rather than filter to find a stay
What Marriott has planned next to improve its AI search functionality 
How AI has transformed and will continue to transform the travel industry
What the future of determining where to go and when to go there will look like
Why he thinks the next generation of OTAs will be a place where folks come to dream about where to go and not just book a stay
And so much more
Explore Marriott's AI Search Tool
Connect with Nitin on LinkedIn
This episode is brought to you by our friends at AirDNA
Want to see if a Treehouse resort in Dubai pencils?  You can do so in AirDNA.
Want to buy land in Ontario to build a Glamping resort?  AirDNA will show you how other, comparable products are performing in the region.
Or maybe you’ve already got your stay up and running and you want a better understanding of how your Airbnb compares to others in the market?  You can connect your listing to AirDNA and get accurate nightly pricing recommendations based on real-world, real-time demand.
AirDNA is the key you need to unlock the insight behind what it’s going to take to bring those big dreams you have to life.
Pay just $25/month and access ANY market in the world — AirDNA is cheaper, faster, better, and stronger to use than ever before. 
About the Show
Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.  
You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com. 
Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Nitin Sood, Vice President of Innovation at Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy.
Nitin and his team launched the first AI-powered search experience of any travel site so I invited him to come on the show to talk about how they built the tool, how folks are engaging with the experience post-launch, and what they’ve got cooking up behind the scenes to improve the product. 
Tune in to hear Nitin and I discuss:
How Marriott built their Search with AI tool 
What they’ve learned since allowing users to craft a prompt rather than filter to find a stay
What Marriott has planned next to improve its AI search functionality 
How AI has transformed and will continue to transform the travel industry
What the future of determining where to go and when to go there will look like
Why he thinks the next generation of OTAs will be a place where folks come to dream about where to go and not just book a stay
And so much more
Explore Marriott's AI Search Tool
Connect with Nitin on LinkedIn
This episode is brought to you by our friends at AirDNA
Want to see if a Treehouse resort in Dubai pencils?  You can do so in AirDNA.
Want to buy land in Ontario to build a Glamping resort?  AirDNA will show you how other, comparable products are performing in the region.
Or maybe you’ve already got your stay up and running and you want a better understanding of how your Airbnb compares to others in the market?  You can connect your listing to AirDNA and get accurate nightly pricing recommendations based on real-world, real-time demand.
AirDNA is the key you need to unlock the insight behind what it’s going to take to bring those big dreams you have to life.
Pay just $25/month and access ANY market in the world — AirDNA is cheaper, faster, better, and stronger to use than ever before. 
About the Show
Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.  
You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com. 
Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

59 min