In addition to our daily news coverage of the travel technology industry, PhocusWire prioritizes perspectives from leaders and innovators in the space.
Our opinion pieces are often popular reads, and this year, conversation focused largely on agentic artificial intelligence (AI), the changing world of airline retailing and distribution, the future of online travel agencies (OTAs) and what it takes to
“win” in an AI-first world.
Below, we rounded up the top 10 performing op-eds for 2025 in descending order.
10. You've spent 20 years optimizing for humans: Now it's time to optimize for AI
Propellic CEO Brennen Bliss’ op-ed in April focused on AI optimization strategies.
As the world and the travel industry shift away from traditional search engine optimization (SEO), Bliss said the priority should be generating content that appeals to large language models (LLMs).
“This is not about abandoning traditional SEO. It's about expanding our strategy to include the next generation of content discovery. Just as we once moved from keyword stuffing to quality content, we now need to adapt to an AI-first world where the rules
of visibility are being rewritten,” Bliss wrote.
9. The (yet to be realized) customer benefits of NDC, dynamic pricing, offers and orders
In this opinion piece from June, Mike McCormick, partner at Travel Again Advisory, commented on the shortcomings of New Distribution Capability (NDC) for airline customers.
While NDC promised to be more dynamic than traditional global distribution systems (GDSs), McCormick contended that the benefits haven't come to fruition.
“To realize the potential of NDC fully, airlines, technology intermediaries and travel agencies must prioritize clearer, simpler implementation strategies,” he wrote.
“Harmonizing standards across all industry stakeholders is essential to avoid confusion and complexity. Without true standardization, NDC will remain fragmented and ineffective.”
8. What deregulation could mean for U.S. airlines and the payment industry
An op-ed from Tom Randklev, head of product for CellPoint Digital, focused on potential impacts of deregulation for U.S. airlines and travel payment providers. The piece was published in January
amid the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, with Randklev noting that his administration would “be on the side of deregulation.”
“Although airlines are used to the complexities of operating globally, the changes likely to be brought in by the Trump administration are more consequential than usual,” Randklev predicted.
“The policy shifts that impact payments, technology and other operational aspects of commercial aviation may not capture the same headlines as those with geopolitical and macroeconomic implications. But they will affect airline profitability and deserve very
close attention.”
7. Can a revolution fix the travel management world?
Another top op-ed was published in February, written by T2Impact principal Timothy O'Neil-Dunne and focusing on the “broken” world of travel management companies (TMCs).
In the piece, O’Neil-Dunne argued that “evolution” won’t suffice for TMCs. With AI platforms taking hold, the sector needs a full revolution to eliminate outdated booking engines, move towards automation and address other issues.
“The travel management world has changed. Mergers of large inefficient Goliaths is not the answer. TMCs must either reinvent themselves or get out of the way,” O’Neil-Dunne wrote.
6. 2025 is the year AI agents will transform airline shopping
In March, we published a piece on AI agents and airline shopping from Rick Seaney, VP of innovation at 3Victors.
Seaney outlined the steps for airlines to become “agent ready,” encouraging them to prioritize data, embrace dynamic offers, learn to read traffic and lean into agent optimization as opposed to SEO.
“Presenting the very best offer across every variable in real time is a goal for airlines to start working on now, not later. Creating a solid data foundation and optimizing information for agents, not just human shoppers, will deliver the highest returns
for the future of flight shopping,” Seaney wrote.
5. If NDC is a first building block in airline retailing, what comes next?
Tye Radcliffe, chief customer success officer at Accelya, also commented on NDC in a February op-ed.
For Radcliffe, NDC is the first step to grow modern airline retailing, but offers and orders are the next step, shifting from legacy passenger systems.
“Replacing the passenger service system and moving to a modern offer, order, settle and deliver platform is complex, and if it isn't implemented correctly, the consequences can be severe: Planes will be grounded, and passengers will be adversely impacted,”
Radcliffe warned.
“It is understandable the industry is inherently risk averse, but the opportunities are enormous, and the long-term risk of not transforming could be even more severe.”
4. AI’s new gatekeepers: How Booking.com and Expedia are hijacking the future of travel
Brad Brewer, co-founder and chief AI officer of Agentic Hospitality, shared thoughts on Booking.com and Expedia in the world of AI.
In a piece published in October, Brewer contended that the OTA giants are adapting quickly in the agentic world, and unless regulations are put in place for assistants, the pair could end up with a duopoly.
“If assistants become the primary gateway to travelers, access to the guest will be controlled by whoever controls the assistant; they will decide who gets seen, in what order and at what price,” Brewer wrote.
3. 4 scenarios on the future of agentic AI in travel
Mario Gavira, angel investor and recently-appointed CMO of Travelier, is widely read on PhocusWire, and his piece from May on the future of agentic AI in travel is no exception.
Gavira outlined four potential scenarios based on two axes—trust and disintermediation—also providing recommendations for OTAs and travel suppliers.
“The tectonic shifts the travel landscape will face in the coming years will be as deep and far-reaching as the internet revolution. We don’t know which future will ultimately dominate the industry landscape,” Gavira wrote.
2. Instagram's Google integration: A game changer for travel marketing
Gavira penned the second-most-read op-ed of 2025 as well, this time focusing on Instagram’s Google integration in July.
According to Gavira, Instagram allowing public posts from professional accounts to be indexed by Google represented a “strategic realignment” with “profound” implications.
“Looking ahead, I believe this integration represents just the beginning of a broader convergence between social media and search,” he wrote. “As AI-powered tools continue to evolve and integrate content from diverse sources, the lines between social
platforms, traditional search engines and AI search engines continue to blur.”
1. Why AI agents will supercharge, not bypass, OTAs
Gavira also claimed the top spot with his
thoughts on AI’s ability to strengthen OTAs rather than disintermediate
them.
According to Gavira’s piece from January, tech advancements
could empower OTAs to become gatekeepers thanks to their years
of expertise in performance marketing,
brand recognition and ability to process billions of API calls daily.
“The reality unfolding before us is a tale of how
technological evolution often strengthens rather than weakens established
market structures, especially when those incumbents have spent decades building
the financial models and tech foundations that the new platform shift will need
to thrive,” Gavira wrote.