SiteMinder is connecting its hotel distribution platform to AI booking channels using Model Context Protocol (MCP).
The company is updating the platform to support AI-driven bookings via both supplier-direct and intermediary channels.
On the supplier-direct side, SiteMinder is extending its Demand Plus product beyond metasearch channels such as Google, Trivago and TripAdvisor into AI environments including ChatGPT and Claude. The setup allows AI tools to access live hotel data and direct users to complete bookings on hotel websites.
DirectBooker is the first partner supporting this pathway. The company, a PhocusWire Hot 25 Travel Startup for 2026, aims to provide the infrastructure layer connecting live hotel rates to AI platforms.
According to Sanjay Vakil, CEO and co-founder of DirectBooker, “AI is creating a new front door for hotel discovery, and every hotel deserves to be found through it.”
On the move to extend hotel distribution into AI-driven travel, Vakil said, “SiteMinder's partnership supports DirectBooker's goal of ensuring hotels are the primary beneficiaries of this shift: capturing a new generation of demand while keeping the guest relationship exactly where it belongs.”
SiteMinder has taken a channel-agnostic approach to powering AI-driven hotel booking.
According to Sankar Narayan, CEO and managing director at SiteMinder, as AI pathways emerge hoteliers need to be "present and bookable at every new point of discovery."
On the intermediary side, SiteMinder is expanding its Channels Plus product to support AI-enabled intermediary platforms. These partners can access hotel inventory to power search, comparison and booking within their own interfaces, with reservations passed through SiteMinder to properties.
Both approaches rely on MCP, which acts as a standard layer connecting AI models to live data and booking systems. The protocol is gaining traction across the travel industry as companies move beyond static content to enable real-time, transactional use cases within AI tools.
According to Phocuswright research, 56% of travel companies have implemented standards such as MCP and Agent2Agent (A2A) protocols or are exploring doing so in the future.
SiteMinder said its Changing Traveller Report 2026 found that eight in 10 travelers want AI assistance during the booking process.