[Aug 25] GPT-4 vs GPT-5: Booking.com presence in AI-powered hotel search results in France
In-depth analysis of Booking.com links versus direct hotel links in OpenAI's GPT search results, and what it means for the hospitality industry.
AI and SEO expert at the forefront of AI Search. He analyses models daily and runs hospitality-focused experiments on a database of over 1M prompts, citations and mentions.
Introduction
With the arrival of OpenAI's GPT-5 model, many hotel owners and marketers are wondering: will AI search engines still send traffic to OTAs like Booking.com, or will they favour direct hotel websites? This case study compares GPT-4 and GPT-5 responses to see how the presence of Booking.com links in AI search results has evolved.
Methodology
We analysed over 3,000 real traveller queries processed by both GPT-4 and GPT-5, across five major French destinations (Paris, Marseilles, Lyon, Nice and Biarritz) and three distinct traveller personas.
Chart showing GPT4 vs GPT5 Booking.com presence analysis
Key Findings
- With GPT-4o, OTA links accounted from 15-35% of all recommendations
- With GPT-5, OTA links dropped to 4% or less.
This shift is consistent across all cities and traveller personas.
Conclusion
The data points to a major distribution shift: GPT-5 virtually eliminates OTA links from its recommendations. For hotels, this is an opportunity to capture more direct bookings — but only if they ensure their properties are visible, relevant, and optimised for AI-driven search.
Nicolas Sitter
AI and SEO expert at the forefront of AI Search. He analyses models daily and runs hospitality-focused experiments on a database of over 1M prompts, citations and mentions.
Co-founder of Hotelrank