Direct Booking Summit 2026: Dedicated AI Training Sessions Added to Agenda
Triptease's Direct Booking Summit, heading to Mexico City on 12–13 May 2026, will for the first time include a dedicated AI Training Track — four sessions designed to close the AI skills gap for hotel teams.
The Direct Booking Summit is heading to Latin America on 12–13 May 2026. This year, for the first time, the agenda includes a dedicated AI Training Track: four sessions designed to close the AI skills gap before it becomes a revenue gap.
Why AI is the defining conversation right now
The numbers behind this shift are not abstract. 80% of travellers now use AI-generated summaries for nearly half their hotel searches. Gartner predicts brands may lose up to 50% of direct traffic due to AI search by 2028. 24% of users already stop at AI summaries without clicking through to any website. On the operations side, hotel teams manually run multiple reports daily. These are not problems solved with a strategy session — they require tools, workflows, and skills that most hotel teams do not yet have. That is what the AI Training Track is built to deliver.
Four AI training sessions — attend all of them
Each of the four sessions runs four times over the two days, with a 15-minute break between rounds. Attend all four, or spend the extra time at the sessions that matter most for your role.
Adapting to AI Search & Optimizing Your Digital Presence with Ira Vouk, hospitality technology expert and author of Hospitality 2.0 and Hotel Tech 101. A live audit of your property's AI visibility, with an action plan to take home.
AI & Automation in Your Day-to-Day with Ben Teresi, COO, Hawkins Hospitality. How to automate the weekly reporting rituals that eat up hotel team time, using tools available today.
AI Tools Demystified with Ben Stagakis, Triptease AI Champion. A decision framework for which category of AI tool solves which category of problem — built for leaders who want to do more with AI but are not sure where to start.
Vibecoding: Build Your Own Tools Without Writing a Single Line of Code with Larry Hogan, Global VP, Customer Success, Triptease. Attendees describe what they want in plain language, and leave with a working example built in the room.
AI on the main stage, too
Beyond the training track, AI runs through the main stage agenda.
On Day 1, Karina Alarcon, Search Product Partnerships for Latin America at Google, presents "The Google Hotels Opportunity: Free Reach, Hotel Ads, and the Agentic Booking Era."
On Day 2, Ira Vouk and Patrick Upmann, AI Governance Expert at AIGN Global, tackle who is responsible when the AI gets it wrong — including the EU AI Act's implications for automated pricing and guest profiling.
The rest of the agenda
The AI track is new. Everything else that makes DBS worth the trip is still there:
Julián Díaz and Alma Medrano of Grupo Posadas on building a direct booking operation across 200 hotels
Bernard Tan, SVP and CCO, Castle Resorts & Hotels, on how independent boutiques push direct bookings
Gopu Menon, EVP Revenue and Distribution at Highgate, on winning metasearch without overspending
Andy Acs, co-founder of @hotel and Tripscout, on the trust battle for hotel websites
Liz Segel, Director of Marketing at Nobu Eden Roc Miami Beach, on creator content at a 621-room iconic resort.
Who should be there
If you are responsible for direct bookings, digital marketing, revenue management, or e-commerce, the Direct Booking Summit 2026 is the event you simply can't miss. The AI training sessions are built for both technical and non-technical attendees.
The Direct Booking Summit 2026 takes place at The St. Regis Mexico City on 12–13 May 2026. It is run by Triptease, the direct booking platform for hotels.
