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Online travel agencies (OTAs) have become travellers’ primary starting point for researching accommodation, according to new data from SiteMinder’s Changing Traveller Report 2026. Some 26% of respondents globally said they would begin their search with an OTA, up from 18% the prior year, while the share starting with a search engine fell to 21% down from 36%.
The report also found a shift in booking behaviour, as 18% of travellers who begin on an OTA now opt to book directly with a hotel, up by 3.3% year-on-year.
More travellers were also turning to informal sources and familiar brands, with 14% starting their research through friends or family and 7% through known hotel chains.
AI remains a smaller but growing entry point for trip planning, and 4% of respondents said they would begin with AI tools, compared with 1% last year, with usage highest among Gen Z and Millennials.
Across the wider booking process, demand for AI-enabled features is increasing. SiteMinder found that 80% of travellers want AI capabilities, led by price monitoring and alerts, and 65% support demand-based pricing by hotels.
UK travellers remain below the global average for AI uptake, yet 60% intend to use AI during their next accommodation search. Acceptance of dynamic pricing is also broad, with 55% agreeing hotels should adjust rates during periods of high demand.
The report – which surveyed 12,000 travellers across 14 countries including Australia, China, France, India, Spain, Thailand, the UK and the US – also highlighted continued strength in travel demand. Nearly half of respondents reported a greater desire to travel in the next year, while 12% said they felt less motivated. Japan remains the most sought-after destination, followed by the US and France. The UK continues to rank in the global top 10.
According to Siteminder, event-driven travel is expected to rise further, as 63% of respondents said they are more likely to travel for special events next year, particularly concerts and festivals, with the trend strongest among Gen Z and Millennials. Quality upgrades are also becoming more common, with 58% planning to book superior or luxury rooms.
UK travellers differed from the global sample in several areas of planning and preference and were more likely to prioritise location details when booking online and to view reliable WiFi as “essential”. Their preferred destinations for the coming year are Spain, France and the US, while 28% intend to travel only within the UK.
James Bishop, vice president of Ecosystem and Strategic Partnerships at SiteMinder, said: “In the UK, as globally, the pathway to making a hotel booking is increasingly less linear, with travellers often referencing multiple channels before reserving their stay.
“This underscores the need for hotels to be similarly adept at managing their digital presence. For example, the rise of OTAs as not just a source of third party bookings, but also a primary search mechanism, highlights the advantages to hoteliers of effectively leveraging such visibility.”
He added: “Our data shows that traveller preferences vary significantly depending on where guests are coming from. There’s no universal playbook, as different markets have genuinely different priorities and behaviours. The challenge for hotels in the year ahead is ensuring they have the tools to understand their specific guest mix, and to respond accordingly.”
