113. How AI Search Will Drive More Direct Bookings

AI search is changing how guests find places to stay and most STR operators aren't ready for it.We sit down with Jason Cincotta, CEO of Kismet, to break down how tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews are reshaping guest discovery. Jason brings a hotel development background to the conversation and explains why Kismet is now building infrastructure for short-term rentals, starting with the three things AI needs to recommend and book a property: visibility, operability, and bookability.We run a live search for boutique hotels in Sarasota to see exactly how AI ranks results, and what it's actually pulling from ratings, reviews, location data, and structured property content. The gap between operators who show up and those who don't comes down to whether their properties are machine-readable.If you're relying on OTAs to handle discovery, this episode is a wake-up call.Connect with me....YouTube Channel: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@patrykswietekInstagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/patryk_swietek/Facebook Group: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/strnation/Connect with Jason Cincotta via email [email protected] or kismet.travel to book a demo.