 For many years Booking Holdings has framed its vision around its ability to connect various elements of travel together for consumers. The online travel giant has revealed some connected trip success in earnings, with customers booking more than one element for the same trip. But, perhaps the bigger question now is the impact artificial intelligence (AI) might have on its strategy. In an opinion piece, Travelier CMO Mario Gavira argued time could be running out now for the company to realize its vision. In the op-ed—our top read this week—he said agentic AI could commoditize Booking if it doesn’t absorb the financial liabilities that come with building that connected trip. A further popular piece was a look at the importance of human involvement in AI. In the report from Sabre’s recent Compass event, behavioral and AI experts argued companies need to ensure teams are part of the process. But, they cautioned against forcing people to use the technology before it's truly ready. There was also big news from the European Commission this week as it announced it would fine Google €890 million for breaching the Digital Markets Act. The commision has been investigating the search giant for the past two years for preferencing its own services over those of third parties in search results. Our final two analyses this week were centered on digital ID developments. One looked at how the technology is progressing in airports with demonstrations now moving into operations. The second piece focused on a session held at Phocuswright Europe 2026 where executives from Visit Benidorm and Sicpa discussed progress with the European Digital Identity Wallet. -Linda Fox, executive editor | |
