He won't be asked to draw a sheep. However, to book a room at the hotel that best suits their expectations, Ask Bonvoy is the ideal assistant. A hotel with a golf course and gourmet restaurant in an idyllic destination or an ultra-functional establishment in the heart of a business district: all that’s needed is to ask, by formulating their requests in natural language. This conversational search tool will draw from the endless portfolio of the world's leading hotelier – some 10,000 establishments in 146 countries – to find the right place to stay.
Launched by the American group in beta version, Ask Bonvoy marks a new stage in the integration of artificial intelligence into the customer experience. Goodbye to the traditional search bar, no more filters by dates and destinations: the 283 million members of the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty programme – as well as future members – will be able to describe their desires, the amenities they are looking for, the reason for their trip, and receive personalised suggestions in return.
Launched by the American group in beta version, Ask Bonvoy will initially only be available in English on Marriott.com and in the group's mobile applications, while for now it will be gradually offered to a subset of members. This is a way for the group to test and refine performance based on user feedback before a full global rollout planned by the end of the year.
From search bar to natural language
" For almost a century, Marriott has embraced change and positioned itself as a pioneering player in the industrysaid Anthony Capuano, CEO of Marriott International. Ask Bonvoy builds on this legacy by placing conversational AI at the heart of how travellers explore Marriott's extraordinary global portfolio. ". " Travellers are increasingly looking for faster and more intuitive ways to search, explore and plan their trips », explains Drew Pinto, Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue & Technology Officer at Marriott International. And when this phenomenon risks overwhelming you, it’s best to be the one orchestrating it.
Faced with the growing power of ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and their ilk, which are capable of directing travellers to accommodation without going through the hoteliers' direct channels, Marriott intends to keep its clients within its ecosystem, from inspiration right through to booking. Once the accommodation has been identified via Ask Bonvoy, the experience seamlessly switches to Marriott's booking tools to finalise the transaction. " As Marriott refines Ask Bonvoy, the model will also support searches based on loyalty points. ", also states the American group.
Unlike assistants that rely on open web exploration, Ask Bonvoy doesn't use any outside content. Powered by Marriott's proprietary AI architecture, Ask Bonvoy's answers are based exclusively on Marriott's verified proprietary data, ensuring greater reliability for guests wanting to learn about hotel features and amenities.
Behind the announcement of a conversational search tool integrated into its platform lies a broader ambition: to fundamentally rethink the relationship between major hotel groups and their customers in the age of generative AI. Far and wide. In parallel with the internal launch of Ak Bonvoy, Marriott is also collaborating with Google for its future Google AI Mode travel product, as well as with OpenAI as part of its Ad Pilot programme.
And other groups have launched an application within ChatGPT, such as Accor last January, then Wyndham, and more recently IHG. A solution that allows natural language exploration of these groups' offerings, comparison of hotels within their portfolios, before customers are redirected to their booking channels to finalise their reservation. But solutions like Ask Bonvoy should undoubtedly become the new standard for internal distribution channels for groups, with IHG having announced, alongside its partnership with OpenAI, the upcoming integration of conversational search powered by AI within its own solutions.
