IHG Hotels & Resorts recently partnered with Google Cloud AI to develop a travel planner within the IHG One Rewards mobile app for customers. IHG said in a statement that the travel planner will respond to a variety of requests by providing recommendations and travel information and is part of a series of new features that will be introduced in the second half of 2024.
“Working with Google Cloud as our AI innovation partner will make travel planning easier and more interactive for prospective travelers,” said Jolie Fleming, Chief Product and Technology Officer at IHG. “Our customized travel planner uses GenAI to help you discover destinations among more than 6,000 IHG hotels across 100 countries and 19 brands. Guests will soon be able to use the IHG One Rewards mobile app As a true mobile travel companion, you'll be able to create complete itineraries and book hotels in just a few taps.
IHG's travel planners can help with specific questions like “What are 4 late-night dinner options near InterContinental London Park Lane?” and “Is Kimpton Shinjuku Hotel in Tokyo pet-friendly?” , we will make suggestions according to various requests. Questions like, “What jazz shows will be happening near the Holiday Inn Express Manhattan Times Square South the weekend of October 12th?”
IHG says the travel planner will be built using Vertex AI, Google Cloud's AI platform, and Google's Gemini model. Additional features will be introduced in the coming months after general availability.
“IHG is rethinking not only how people travel, but also how they interact with brands,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. “This generative AI implementation combines Google's technical expertise with IHG's commitment to service and raises the bar for how the hospitality industry thinks about guests' digital experiences.”
IHG began its partnership with Google Cloud as a cloud provider in 2022.
