Kayak Founders Launch Lola, an AI Travel Booking Startup for Booking Holdings
Steve Hafner and Paul English, the founders of Kayak, are building an AI startup called Lola for Booking Holdings. Booking Holdings acquired the Lola.com and Lola.ai domain names from English in early April.
A splash page for the startup went live Wednesday. The site reads: "Welcome to Lola. Insider access to the world's leading travel brands. Better rates, better options, better everything. Just ask."
The "just ask" language signals that Lola will operate as a conversational AI tool. Users would interact with the system through natural language to access discounted rates and exclusive offers.
How Lola Works
Lola will connect travelers to Booking Holdings' portfolio of brands, including Booking.com, Agoda, and Priceline. SeatGeek, the ticket marketplace, is also listed as a partner.
The platform aims to use conversational AI to give users insider access to rates and options across these services. Rather than navigating multiple websites, travelers would request what they need and let the AI handle the search.
Why This Matters for Travel Professionals
For hospitality and events professionals, Lola represents a shift in how customers discover and book travel. The AI agent model could change booking workflows for corporate travel, event planning, and group reservations.
Booking Holdings is betting that conversational interfaces will become the primary way people search for travel, similar to how search engines replaced travel guides.
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