[Aug 25] Which Family-Friendly 4* Resorts do AIs Recommend in France?

Introduction

Family travel is a key segment for the hospitality industry. How do AI search engines recommend 4-star family-friendly resorts in France? Our analysis of 2,600 varied prompts shows a dramatic decline for Booking.com and a shift towards direct hotel websites.

Methodology

We submitted 2,600 prompts such as "best family-friendly 4-star resort in France", across multiple contexts (family holidays, beach resorts, countryside stays).

For each resort domain mentioned, we measured:
- Share of appearances (%)
- Comparison between GPT-4o and GPT-5
- Shifts in OTA vs direct presence

Key Findings

• Collapse of Booking.com

Booking.com drops from 21.6% of mentions with GPT-4o to only 2% with GPT-5. AIs now massively favor direct hotel groups over OTAs, as we had already seen here.

• Winners & losers of the shift

Accor climbs to 4.8%, Thalazur rises to 4%, and Center Parcs makes its debut.

On the other hand, Relais & Châteaux almost disappears. Logical if you consider the family-friendly angle. A similar story for Marriott or Radisson.

• Divide and conquer: Booking dismantled
  

The Top 10 resorts represent 30.7% of mentions with GPT-4o, compared to 28.1% with GPT-5.

But more importantly, it’s now more concentrated with no single player above 4%, while a long tail of smaller actors gains visibility (not shown in this chart).

Conclusion

GPT-5 marks a turning point for family-friendly travel recommendations: OTAs fade into the background, while direct brands like Accor, Pierre et Vacances, and Thalazur rise in visibility.

For hotels, the lesson is clear: AI is rewriting distribution dynamics, and direct presence is becoming the key lever to capture family travelers’ attention.