SiteMinder launches AI engine to fix hotel distribution

SiteMinder has launched its Dynamic Commerce Engine for hotels, a system intended to address what it describes as an execution gap in hotel distribution.

The product is designed to identify and act on optimisation opportunities across pricing and distribution, with hotel users required to approve each proposed change before it is carried out.

SiteMinder said hotels have largely relied on tools that provide pricing recommendations only on request, while problems in the distribution layer can go undetected. These can include broken channel connections and unmapped room types, which can reduce revenue and affect the guest booking experience.

The launch extends SiteMinder's focus beyond rate setting to the systems and connections that determine whether hotel inventory appears accurately across booking channels. The company said the engine uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to identify the most valuable opportunities for each property.

The system draws on data from SiteMinder's existing platform, which the company said is used by 56,000 properties. Its network supports 2.6 million hotel rooms, 140 million reservations and 300 million room nights each year, while its model analyses nearly 4 billion availability, rate and inventory signals.

Traveller concerns

SiteMinder tied the launch to broader pressure on hotels to maintain a consistent and accurate online presence. Research it cited from a survey of more than 12,000 travellers across 14 countries found that 51.4% had abandoned an online hotel booking because of a poor experience.

Among those surveyed, 26.5% said they abandoned a booking because reviews, photos or property details did not seem trustworthy. The findings point to the commercial impact of inaccurate or incomplete hotel information across digital channels.

Sankar Narayan outlined the company's view of the challenge facing hotel operators.

"Hotels want to keep up with today's changing travel landscape, but they don't have the time or resources to do it and so doing the bare minimum of staying 'online' becomes the easiest choice. This is a choice that too many hotels have made for too long, and what it has led to is an intention-action gap - an execution gap. SiteMinder's Dynamic Commerce Engine is testament that AI has widened the execution gap for hotels, and that AI can also close it with hoteliers staying firmly in control," said Sankar Narayan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, SiteMinder.

The company said hotels remain in control of any action taken by the engine: recommendations are surfaced automatically but are not applied without approval. That places the product between advisory software and fully automated decision-making.

Distribution focus

SiteMinder argued that distribution infrastructure has received less attention than pricing, despite its direct influence on whether rooms can be found and booked online. In practice, the company is targeting not just rate optimisation, but also the integrity of inventory, room mapping and channel connectivity.

That distinction matters in a hotel sector where revenue management systems have traditionally focused on room prices, while separate distribution systems manage listings and connections to travel sellers. By combining both areas in one workflow, SiteMinder is seeking to broaden the role of AI in hotel commerce operations.

Narayan said the company believes reports and assistant tools are no longer enough for hotel operators managing complex online sales environments.

"Reports and AI assistants are no longer enough. Hotels need to know which opportunities actually matter, without having to ask their system, and to be able to convert those opportunities into revenue. This is what we're making possible. Pricing can't be the only focus; the same focus is needed for the distribution layer-the foundations-underneath, which has a direct impact on the guest experience. It's only with an optimised distribution setup that a guest can know if a room is available, at the price they're willing to pay," said Narayan.

SiteMinder, based in Sydney, also operates the Little Hotelier software business for smaller accommodation providers. The company said its platform generates more than 140 million reservations worth more than AUD $85 billion in revenue for hotel customers each year.