LinkedInยทWednesday, 29 July 2026ยท28d ago
๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐น๐ "๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป." ๐'๐บ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟโฆ
Joris Vanherp
Co-founder @ Maya - Helping travel companies captivate travelers and sell more trips
๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐น๐ "๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป." ๐'๐บ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ.
A recent Skift report has Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Sabre, and Riyadh Air | ุทูุฑุงู ุงูุฑูุงุถ Air all saying the same thing: open architecture, no walled gardens, ready for a world of AI agents.
It sounds great. And they might even mean it.
But here's the part nobody's saying out loud: all three still make their money from owned distribution and lock-in. That's the model. That's how the revenue works today.
๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐'๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
Real openness means a traveller's AI agent can look at your inventory, compare it against your competitors, and book whatever's actually best for the traveller. Even when that's not you.
It means giving up the friction that currently protects your margins.
So the question isn't "do you have APIs?" Plenty of companies do. The question is: are you actually ready to let an outside AI agent transact on equal footing with your own channels, even when it costs you the booking?
That's a much bigger commitment than a nice quote in a report.
Here's what I believe: the winners in the AI era won't be the ones who say "open." They'll be the ones whose systems are genuinely open to agents they don't control, whether or not it's convenient.
Everyone else is just using the word.
So which is it for your company? A value you actually live, or a line in a keynote? Because travellers' AI agents are about to find out.
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