Shiji and Kismet enable direct booking via AI

Hotels become bookable via AI assistants

Shiji has announced a strategic collaboration between Shiji Horizon Distribution and Kismet to help hoteliers appear in, and convert from, AI-powered search and booking journeys, including assistants such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini. The initiative aims to turn hotel content into machine-readable formats and to establish direct connections with AI-driven discovery and booking platforms. The move is designed to support shifting traveller behaviour, as more people consult conversational agents to compare, refine and finalise their choices, while keeping booking paths under hotel control.

Shiji’s ARI — Availability, Rates, Inventory — infrastructure provides a reliable, real-time data layer. Kismet brings AI-ready structuring and connectivity so that information such as room types, rates, availability, amenities and rich content can be fully exploited by conversational agents. The connection relies on protocols such as MCP to enable search, comparison and transaction on the traveller’s behalf, while staying linked to live inventories and hotel booking engines.

More direct revenue, less reliance on intermediaries

The gradual shift towards AI‑assisted interfaces is exposing the limits of legacy content and systems, which were not designed for machine consumption. “This collaboration represents an important step in helping hotels adapt to a rapidly changing distribution landscape,” said Natalie Kimball, VP, Strategic Account Management, Americas & EMEA at Shiji Horizon Distribution. “Shiji provides the trusted, real-time data layer that hotels rely on, and by working with Kismet’s AI capabilities, we are enabling that data to be discovered and acted upon in entirely new ways, supporting hotels in generating more direct revenue, reducing reliance on intermediaries, and capturing demand earlier in the guest journey.”

Shiji, a global hospitality technology company, says it serves more than 91,000 hotels. Its Horizon Distribution product provides real-time ARI data with controlled distribution. Kismet positions itself as an AI demand platform for hotels, supplying the storefront, catalogue and booking flow designed for conversational assistants.