Sydney, Australia – Online travel agencies (OTAs) have overtaken search engines as travellers’ primary starting point for hotel discovery, according to SiteMinder’s Changing Traveller Report 2026, released today. Twenty-six percent of travellers surveyed will now begin their hotel research on an OTA, up from 18% last year, while those who will start with a search engine have fallen to 21% from 36%.Word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family have doubled from 7% to 14%, familiar hotel brands have grown from 3% to 7%, while AI use as a discovery starting point has reached 4%, up from 1% last year — rising higher among Gen Zs and Millennials.The hotel discovery landscape is more dynamic than it’s ever been before. Not only is the starting point of research diversifying, but travellers are moving more seamlessly between channels, often using several simultaneously to build confidence in their choices. This non-linear journey has become the natural rhythm of modern travel plannin…
