Agoda finds 89% of Asian travellers want control over AI hotel bookings

More than half of Asian travellers now use artificial intelligence to plan trips, but the vast majority still want to retain control over hotel bookings, according to new research from Agoda.

The digital travel platform’s 2027 Asia Travel Pulse found that 53% of surveyed travellers across 11 Asian markets use AI for travel planning, up from 33% in the previous year.

However, while adoption is increasing, just 6% said they would completely trust an AI agent to book a hotel on their behalf.

A further 57% would prefer to make a booking themselves, while 32% would allow an AI agent to book only under certain conditions, such as requiring a final review before confirmation or restricting bookings to simple, low-cost options.

The findings are based on research involving more than 3,300 travellers across 11 markets in Asia and suggest that, for now, AI is more firmly established as a research and inspiration tool than as a means of completing transactions.

Building an itinerary was the most common use of AI, cited by 64% of respondents, followed by finding travel inspiration (45%) and comparing hotels or flights (44%). Just 7% said they would use AI to make a booking.

Taiwan and South Korea recorded the highest levels of AI use for itinerary planning, at 75% and 73% respectively.

Vietnam and Taiwan also saw the sharpest increases in overall AI use for travel planning. Adoption more than doubled in Vietnam, rising from 30% to 63%, while Taiwan saw usage climb from 35% to 63%.

Idan Zalzberg, chief technology officer at Agoda, said AI was making travel research significantly faster, but that travellers still wanted to make the final decision themselves.

“Research that used to take travellers hours can now be done in a single conversation with an AI assistant,” he said.

“When it comes to the booking itself, many travellers still want to make the final decision on their own terms.”

Zalzberg added that real reviews, transparent information sources and access to human support were important factors in helping travellers feel more confident using AI.

The research found that 38% of travellers would allow an AI agent to book a hotel on their behalf in some form, although most would impose conditions.

Nearly a quarter (23%) would permit a booking only after reviewing it themselves, while 9% would restrict AI-led bookings to straightforward or low-cost reservations.

Travellers in South Korea and Vietnam were the most receptive to AI booking, with more than six in ten respondents in both markets open to an agent making a reservation in some capacity.

In South Korea, 39% would allow an AI agent to book only with their final review, compared with 23% across the region. Vietnam recorded the highest proportion willing to trust an AI agent completely, at 19%.

The research also highlighted the importance of transparency and reassurance in building confidence in AI-powered travel services.

Real reviews from other travellers were the most frequently cited factor that would increase trust, selected by 25% of respondents. A further 24% wanted AI assistants to show where their information came from, while 18% prioritised the ability to contact a real person for help. Another 15% wanted AI tools to explain why they were recommending a particular option.

Regional preferences varied, with real reviews particularly important to travellers in South Korea, while respondents in Thailand and Japan placed greater emphasis on knowing the sources of information. Access to human support ranked highest in the Philippines and Hong Kong SAR.

Agoda said it was developing its AI capabilities with these priorities in mind. Its AI-powered multimodal content system matches hotel photographs with relevant guest reviews, drawing on more than 700 million images across over 40 languages.

The company has also launched its AI Assistant in the Agoda app, allowing users to plan and manage trips through conversation, with hotel recommendations incorporating real-time pricing and availability.

The findings pointed to a growing role for AI in travel discovery and planning, but suggest that travel companies will need to demonstrate reliability, transparency and customer control if they want travellers to hand over more of the booking process to AI agents.