IHG Joins ChatGPT as Hotel Search Moves Closer to Booking

IHG Hotels & Resorts launched an IHG app in ChatGPT. The tool lets travelers search and compare IHG hotels through normal conversation instead of using only fixed search filters. Users can ask for a hotel based on location, trip purpose, amenities, budget, or travel style.

The app can show IHG hotel options with real-time availability, pricing, maps, and property details. IHG says the tool covers more than 7,000 hotels in over 100 countries. Once a traveler chooses a hotel, they are sent to IHG’s own booking channels to finish the reservation.

AI search helps IHG protect direct bookings

Hotel search is becoming more conversational. Travelers often need more than a destination and date. They may want a hotel near a meeting, a family-friendly stay with breakfast, or a property close to transport. AI search can understand these fuller requests better than a basic filter.

For IHG, the main goal is not just to appear inside ChatGPT. It is also to protect direct booking. When the final reservation happens through IHG, the company keeps the customer relationship, loyalty connection, and booking data.

IHG will add AI search to its own channels

IHG also plans to bring conversational search to IHG.com and the IHG One Rewards app. This means travelers will be able to describe the stay they want inside IHG’s own platforms, not only inside ChatGPT. The goal is to make the path from inspiration to booking faster and easier.

This could help IHG’s direct channels become more useful at the planning stage. Instead of visiting an online travel agency first, a traveler may be able to start with IHG, explain the trip, and get more relevant hotel options.

AI is becoming a new travel storefront

IHG is joining a broader shift in travel technology. OpenAI introduced apps inside ChatGPT in October 2025, with Booking.com and Expedia among the early travel partners. These apps let users interact with travel services inside a chat, instead of jumping between several websites.

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