The first direct hotel booking app launches in ChatGPT, powered by Lighthouse | News
Lighthouse, the commercial AI operating system for the travel and hospitality industries, today announced the launch of The Hotels Network app, the first direct hotel booking app available within ChatGPT. Powered by Lighthouse’s Connect AI engine, the app gives hotels a direct presence in AI conversations for the first time.
The app is available to hotels of all sizes worldwide on a fixed subscription basis without booking commissions.
A new direct booking channel for hotel discovery
ChatGPT now reaches more than 800 million users worldwide, a user base 133 times larger than the iPhone App Store at its launch in 2008. According to a recent Simon-Kucher survey, 43% of travelers already use AI tools in their trip planning process and 62% prefer to book directly with hotels if given the option.
Lighthouse has been building toward this moment since June 2025, when the company outlined a clear thesis: AI platforms will be the new front door to hotel discovery, and hotels need a direct presence or risk ceding control to third parties. Booking.com and Expedia moved quickly to secure their place as ChatGPT App Launch Partners. Hotels had no similar path. The Hotels Network app changes that, giving hotels a direct booking channel within the AI conversations where travel planning increasingly begins.
What this means for travelers
Today, travelers who ask ChatGPT for hotel recommendations get results largely driven by OTA listings and scraped web content: generic summaries that ignore what actually makes a property worth booking. The Hotels Network app changes what they see. Results are now based on verified, hotel-provided content: accurate descriptions, real photography and live rates straight from the property, often at better prices than OTA listings. And with one click, travelers are redirected to the hotel’s own website to complete the reservation.
What this means for hotels
The app gives hotels three options that were previously unavailable within AI platforms:
Control the brand story. Instead of relying on AI-generated generic summaries, hotels can present their story the way they want. Properties can showcase what makes them unique, from a newly renovated spa to a rooftop bar with city views, so AI recommendations reflect the real guest experience.
Instant rates, within the call. Hotels can display their own rates in AI conversations. This means hotels can offer competitive prices and instant booking benefits, such as free upgrades, loyalty benefits and best price guarantees.
Answer the questions travelers actually ask. With Connect AI, hotels can better answer the types of questions travelers ask AI platforms: “Which hotels near the beach in Barcelona are good for families?” “What activities does this hotel offer for toddlers?” The app displays properties with the rich, structured information needed to match traveler needs, not just a price and a star rating.
“AI is the biggest change in the way travelers plan their trips and discover hotels since Google, and the OTAs have already moved in,” said Juanjo Rodriguez, Head of Direct Booking at Lighthouse. “The Hotels Network app is the answer for the industry. Properties can now control how they are discovered, tell their own story and move their own rates forward, all within the conversations where travel planning begins. This isn’t an incremental improvement. It’s a new distribution channel. And the hotels that go live today are shaping how the next generation of travelers discover and book hotels.”
How it works
The Hotels Network app is powered by Connect AI, Lighthouse’s AI engine built on the Model Context Protocol MCP standard. Connect AI creates a live data bridge between hotels and AI platforms, ensuring that when a traveler asks ChatGPT for hotel recommendations, the response is based on accurate, real-time information straight from the property, not scrapped summaries or outdated training data.
Hotels appear with brand-verified content, live rates and direct one-click booking links that take guests to the hotel’s own website to complete the booking. Hotels control their entire brand story within AI conversations – property descriptions, amenities, guest experience details and photography – not just pricing and availability.
Live in the ChatGPT app directory
The Hotels Network app is now live in the ChatGPT App Directory. The app is open to hotel chains, groups and independent properties, and no changes to existing hotel websites, booking engines or property management systems are required. The launch marks the next step in the evolution of Connect AI.
As new AI channels emerge, Connect AI is built to grow with the AI ecosystem, expanding hotel visibility to new conversational platforms and emerging initiatives like WebMCP.
Travelers can start discovering hotels directly in ChatGPT today. Hotels can learn more and request a demo at: https://www.mylighthouse.com/platform/connect-ai
