Expedia, Booking and Airbnb fall as OpenAI reportedly buys AI travel platform

Online travel stocks fell to session lows Tuesday after The Information reported that OpenAI had acquired Odessia, an AI-powered travel planning platform, raising concerns about the potential for increased competition from artificial intelligence in the travel industry.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ: EXPE) fell as much as 5%, Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) declined as much as 3%, while Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB) extended its losses to as much as 3.5%.

The report marks a potential expansion of OpenAI’s ambitions in travel, a market where AI tools could increasingly influence how consumers discover destinations, compare accommodation and plan trips.

OpenAI and Odessia have not disclosed the financial terms of the transaction. Odessia’s website has also confirmed the acquisition, providing further support for the reported deal.

The acquisition could strengthen OpenAI’s position in AI-powered travel planning and potentially bring it closer to the booking process itself. While ChatGPT can already help users research destinations and build itineraries, a dedicated travel platform could provide additional capabilities and a more integrated experience.

For established online travel companies, the concern is that AI assistants could become a new gateway between consumers and travel providers, potentially reducing the importance of traditional search, comparison and booking platforms.

Expedia, Booking and Airbnb have all built large businesses around attracting travelers directly to their platforms. A shift toward AI-driven discovery and planning could challenge that model if consumers increasingly rely on conversational assistants to organize their trips.

However, the extent of the competitive threat will depend on what OpenAI intends to do with Odessia, including whether it plans to integrate booking capabilities into ChatGPT or focus primarily on travel research and itinerary planning.