Travel + AI Snapshot
The travel industry is at a pivot point. A recent report by McKinsey & Company shows “agentic AI” (autonomous agents doing tasks, not just advising) could reshape travel operations, guest experiences and revenue models. McKinsey & CompanyMeanwhile, a broader industry outlook flags digital personalisation (AI), sustainability and bleisure travel as top 2025 drivers. Deloitte+1 Travel budgets are tightening though—U.S. holiday-trip volumes and spend are down. Reuters
Take-away: Don’t treat AI as a nice-to-have. It’s now a strategic imperative for travel and hospitality brands that want to stay relevant.
The Sonder Holdings Inc. Fiasco
Sonder, once a hot “tech-meets-hospitality” brand, officially filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in the U.S. following the termination of its licensing deal with Marriott International. Business Insider+1 Marriott’s court filing paints a bleak picture: Sonder allegedly threatened to strand guests and shut down access to rooms unless Marriott funded its wind-down (~$14-28 million). Business Insider+1
And let me add, I personally met many of the Sonder board earlier in 2025, and I have Never been more underwhelmed by a “public” board.
Why this matters:
A flashy model + big tech-brand tie-in ≠ guaranteed success.
Integration failure (systems, booking, cashflow) can sink you faster than competition. Hotel Dive
Guests, owners, investors all lose when execution breaks down.
My take: Sonder was never a visionary transformation. It was a hype-driven disruption bet that collapsed under the weight of poor operations, tech misalignment and liquidity gamble (not to mention a rushed SPAC in 2022 that valued the company at $2B). Let’s learn from it—so we don’t replicate the mistake. It should have been called “WeSleep” as the model was flawed from the start just like “WeWork.”
Key lessons:Insist on operational redundancy and guest-experience safeguards.
Tech/brand alliances are only as strong as the shared data + systems behind them.
Growth ambition is meaningless without margin control, true leadership, cash validity and execution discipline.
THIS WEEK’S PODCAST: Tony Capuano, Marriott CEO
He emphasized scale + loyalty as the new competitive moat — not just branded rooms.
Loyalty programs are evolving into “guest-life” networks: residences, mixed-use, beyond stays.
On AI: his message was that it isn’t a bolt-on. It must be foundational to how Marriott runs, not just how it markets.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Watch on YouTube. Drop me your feedback.
What’s Coming Up on Not Done
Next week, 11/25, I host Joshua Wohle (CEO of Mindstone and AI Expert). Joshua will walk through how AI learning platforms and personalization frameworks are intersecting with hospitality and travel tech.
AI rewards context, not perfection. Joshua explains that generative AI behaves less like a traditional tool and more like a “synthetic human”—meaning longer, context-rich inputs (especially via voice) dramatically outperform short prompts.
The real skill of the future isn’t coding — it’s agency. He argues coding will be obsolete, and the differentiator will be agency: people who see a problem, take action, and iterate without waiting to be told what to do.
Every executive needs an AI operating rhythm. Joshua shares how he uses AI agents daily — from drafting emails to reviewing contracts — and how leaders must model adoption themselves or risk signaling that AI is “someone else’s job.”
Upcoming guests:
12/2 — Adam Harris, CEO & Founder of CloudBeds
12/9 — Chris Silcock, Global President of Hilton Hotels
Surprise Feature: Innovation Lab Snapshot
Spotlight: Airial Travel —a fresh startup that raised US$3 million seed to convert TikTok/Instagram travel content into bookable itineraries via AI. Business Insider
Why this matters: The funnel is shortening from “dream scroll” to “book now”, and AI is doing the heavy lifting. If you’re in travel/hospitality tech, ask: how will you be content-connected, discovery-to-conversion-enabled, and AI-embedded?
Happy Thanksgiving to you & yours!
Cheers, Sloan