Expedia to integrate hotel bookings with Meta’s Muse AI

Expedia has announced plans to allow travelers to book hotel stays through Meta’s new Muse AI personal assistant. Under this arrangement, travelers can describe their preferences and complete payments within the Muse interface, while Expedia serves as the merchant of record. This move follows Expedia’s integration with Google’s agentic booking systems, signaling a shift toward online travel agencies (OTAs) becoming the primary suppliers for AI-driven assistants.

Industry testing has highlighted challenges regarding how hotels interact with these agents. In one instance, Meta’s Muse attempted to book a Hilton property directly, but was blocked by the hotel’s bot protection. The AI subsequently redirected the user to Expedia to complete the transaction. This suggests that while bot protection may prevent direct automated bookings, it may inadvertently drive customers toward third-party platforms rather than direct hotel websites.