HotelsByDay says AI-referred bookings jumped 422%

HotelsByDay says AI assistants are sending more travelers to its day-use hotel platform, with AI-referred bookings rising 422% over the past year and making up 13.8% of bookings in September 2026. The company also showed ChatGPT helping a user search for a room and reach checkout, underscoring how AI could reshape hotel discovery and booking.

Why it matters: - HotelsByDay is seeing AI move from travel inspiration to transaction. That could make day-use hotel inventory easier to discover and book through chat tools. - The shift matters because HotelsByDay can support online payment for eligible bookings, which makes AI-assisted checkout more practical.

What happened: - HotelsByDay reported that AI-referred bookings rose 422% from September 2025 through August 2026 compared with the prior 12 months. - In September 2026, AI referrals accounted for 13.8% of all HotelsByDay bookings, up from 2.1% in September 2025. - AI-referred bookings increased 558% in September 2026 compared with September 2025. - The conversion rate for AI-referred visitors improved 152%. - ChatGPT was the dominant source of AI-referred bookings, ahead of Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Copilot.

The details: - HotelsByDay based the figures on Google Analytics data comparing September 2024 through August 2025 with September 2025 through August 2026, plus year-over-year comparisons for September 2025 and September 2026. - Some AI traffic arrives without identifiable referral information and is classified as direct traffic, so actual AI-driven activity may be higher. - In a November 2026 demonstration, Merideth Sweeney, Content Strategy Manager at HotelsByDay, used ChatGPT to find a day-use hotel room and reach checkout. - The prompt asked ChatGPT to go to hotelsbyday.com and book a day-use room in Miami on November 2, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for two guests, choosing the lowest-priced available option. - ChatGPT searched available rooms, compared rates and navigated to checkout. - The room rate, taxes and processing fee were displayed before payment. - On eligible reservations, guests can pay the room rate, taxes and applicable fees online by credit card. - HotelsByDay does not charge a separate booking fee. - Certain hotel-imposed charges, including resort fees, may still be collected at the property. - HotelsByDay offers day-use hotel rooms, pool and spa access, meeting rooms and workspaces at more than 4,000 hotels across more than 16 countries. - HotelsByDay was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in New York.

Between the lines: - The data suggests AI assistants are becoming a meaningful referral channel for travel bookings, not just a research layer. - The checkout demo signals an effort to make HotelsByDay easy for AI agents to complete bookings end to end. - ChatGPT’s lead over other AI tools suggests the platform is currently benefiting most from one dominant assistant, which could make traffic patterns sensitive to changes in that ecosystem.

What's next: - HotelsByDay appears positioned to lean further into AI-assisted travel search as more users ask assistants to recommend and book day-use rooms. - If AI tools keep improving transactional workflows, more bookings may move from search to checkout inside the assistant interface. - The company is likely to continue emphasizing online payment for eligible reservations as a differentiator for AI-driven bookings.

The bottom line: - HotelsByDay is showing how quickly AI assistants can become a booking funnel, especially when search, rate comparison and payment all connect in one flow.