When I look at the travel industry, I see a lot of competition and uncertainty for the future. While I have parents that are willing to go to an in person travel agency to book a trip, I realize that this model is effectively extinct (or will be soon). It seems that the major travel sites like [Booking.com](http://Booking.com) , [Hotels.com](http://Hotels.com), Expedia, all seem to have sort of relationship with the hotel, travel excursion companies. Coupled with the total number of options available on each site, there seems to also be a type of network effect similar to the value given by social media companies along with the perception of the brand.
My question is multifaced.
How do people currently books trips (do you use a website like [Booking.com](http://Booking.com) or do you prefer to contact the hotel directly? I am specifically wondering in the context of finding deals as I don't travel much.
Do you realistically see artificial intelligence having the ability to seamlessly allows you to book a hotel? ( I'm basically referring to open claw style control. This seams questionable to me given the security concerns of taking on credit card information. Maybe there is a middle ground?)
Hopefully this makes sense. Again, I don't travel at all. Cheers.