{
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "record_type": "research_findings",
  "language": "en",
  "source": {
    "title": "The AGR AI Hotel Link Study: Where 900 AI Answers Send Travelers",
    "publisher": "Americas Great Resorts",
    "url": "https://www.americasgreatresorts.net/ai-hotel-link-study/"
  },
  "study_scope": {
    "published": "2026-11-11",
    "collected": "2026-11-11",
    "author": "Andrew Paul, Founder and Managing Director, Americas Great Resorts",
    "collection_method": "Logged-out US consumer AI search experiences, collected 10:33 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. Eastern time",
    "engines": [
      "ChatGPT",
      "Google AI Mode",
      "Gemini"
    ],
    "destinations": [
      "New York City",
      "Greater Miami",
      "Las Vegas",
      "Chicago",
      "Los Angeles area",
      "Orlando area",
      "Cancún and Costa Mujeres",
      "Punta Cana",
      "Los Cabos",
      "Honolulu"
    ],
    "questions": 100,
    "questions_per_destination": 10,
    "runs_per_question_per_engine": 3,
    "answers": 900,
    "answers_naming_a_registry_hotel": 899,
    "intent_categories": [
      "general hotel discovery",
      "luxury",
      "romantic getaway",
      "family vacation",
      "boutique hotels",
      "spas",
      "on-site dining",
      "exceptional service",
      "two local questions per destination"
    ],
    "link_measures": {
      "any_hotel_website_link": "A link to a hotel or hotel-brand website among the citations or in the answer text",
      "hotel_website_citation": "A link to a hotel or hotel-brand website among the sources the engine attached to the answer"
    },
    "excluded_platforms": [
      "Copilot (could not be collected)",
      "Claude, Perplexity and other AI assistants (not tested)"
    ],
    "documented_exceptions": [
      "One Gemini answer ended after 75 characters and named no hotel"
    ]
  },
  "findings": [
    {
      "id": "f1",
      "kind": "measurement",
      "topic": "hotel website links",
      "claim": "536 of 899 AI answers that named a hotel (59.6%) contained no link to any hotel or hotel-brand website.",
      "evidence": "705 of 899 (78.4%) had no hotel website citation. In 169 answers, a hotel website link appeared in the answer text while no hotel website was cited.",
      "source_location": "Exhibit 2",
      "limitation": "Links counted at the answer level, not matched to each hotel named. Rendering on screen was not verified."
    },
    {
      "id": "f2",
      "kind": "measurement",
      "topic": "Google AI Mode citations and hotel cards",
      "claim": "1,122 of 1,173 Google AI Mode citation links (95.7%) pointed to Google pages, and 288 of 300 answers (96.0%) cited Google.",
      "evidence": "1,309 hotel cards in 237 answers; 1,303 held the hotel website in the card data; 794 card links pointed to Google pages, 515 were blank, 0 pointed to a hotel website. 166 of 300 answers carried a hotel website link in the answer text.",
      "source_location": "Exhibit 5",
      "limitation": "The study did not establish how Google builds its cards."
    },
    {
      "id": "f3",
      "kind": "measurement",
      "topic": "ChatGPT citations and map pins",
      "claim": "Tripadvisor was the recorded provider for 1,472 of 1,550 ChatGPT hotel map pins (95.0%).",
      "evidence": "Of 2,035 ChatGPT citation links, 47.2% went to publishers and other sites, 25.6% to hotel and brand websites and 21.0% to Tripadvisor. 183 of 300 answers had no hotel website link of any kind.",
      "source_location": "Exhibit 6",
      "limitation": "Individual map fields were not traced to specific Tripadvisor pages."
    },
    {
      "id": "f4",
      "kind": "measurement",
      "topic": "Gemini citations",
      "claim": "103 of 300 Gemini answers (34.3%) contained no citations; 102 of those named at least one hotel.",
      "evidence": "Of 1,167 Gemini citation links, 62.4% went to publishers and other sites, 16.9% to hotel and brand websites and 15.5% to OTAs and booking sites. 219 of 299 answers that named a hotel had no hotel website link of any kind.",
      "source_location": "Exhibit 4",
      "limitation": "No Google Travel cards were recorded for Gemini in this collection."
    },
    {
      "id": "f5",
      "kind": "measurement",
      "topic": "repeat consistency",
      "claim": "In 292 of 299 complete question-and-engine groups (97.7%), at least one hotel was added or removed across three same-day answers.",
      "evidence": "Including the group with the truncated Gemini answer, 293 of 300 saved groups changed.",
      "source_location": "Exhibit 7",
      "limitation": "A group counts as changed if even one hotel differs; it does not mean the entire list changed."
    },
    {
      "id": "f6",
      "kind": "comparison",
      "topic": "destination leaders",
      "claim": "Four of 10 September 27, 2026 destination leaders led or co-led again on November 11, 2026.",
      "evidence": "The Peninsula Chicago, Halekulani, Hotel Bel-Air and Mandarin Oriental, New York (tied with The Greenwich Hotel).",
      "source_location": "Exhibit 7",
      "limitation": "September pooled four engines including Copilot; November pooled three."
    }
  ],
  "exhibits": {
    "exhibit-1": {
      "title": "Travelers report using AI. Travel companies report little AI referral traffic.",
      "type": "table",
      "rows": [
        {
          "measure": "Active US travelers who used AI on at least one trip in the prior 12 months",
          "finding": "56% (first half 2026), 43% (second half 2025), 33% (first half 2025)",
          "source": "Phocuswright, March 2026"
        },
        {
          "measure": "Travelers using generative AI platforms for trip research",
          "finding": "33%, against 35% for general search engines",
          "source": "Phocuswright via TravelPulse, March 26, 2026"
        },
        {
          "measure": "AI referral share of traffic to tracked hotel and short-term rental websites",
          "finding": "Quadrupled over a year, from a low base",
          "source": "Bain & Company, September 30, 2026"
        },
        {
          "measure": "AI traffic to US travel websites",
          "finding": "Up 119% year over year in July 2026; conversion 1% lower than non-AI visits",
          "source": "Adobe, August 19, 2026"
        },
        {
          "measure": "External AI referrals at Booking.com",
          "finding": "Significantly less than 1% of room nights, as stated by management",
          "source": "Booking Holdings Q3 2026 earnings call, November 3, 2026"
        }
      ]
    },
    "exhibit-2": {
      "title": "Per answer: hotel website links by engine",
      "type": "table",
      "rows": [
        {
          "engine": "ChatGPT",
          "named_a_hotel": 300,
          "any_hotel_website_link": 117,
          "hotel_website_citation": 100,
          "no_link_of_any_kind": 183,
          "no_citation": 200
        },
        {
          "engine": "Google AI Mode",
          "named_a_hotel": 300,
          "any_hotel_website_link": 166,
          "hotel_website_citation": 14,
          "no_link_of_any_kind": 134,
          "no_citation": 286
        },
        {
          "engine": "Gemini",
          "named_a_hotel": 299,
          "any_hotel_website_link": 80,
          "hotel_website_citation": 80,
          "no_link_of_any_kind": 219,
          "no_citation": 219
        },
        {
          "engine": "All three",
          "named_a_hotel": 899,
          "any_hotel_website_link": 363,
          "hotel_website_citation": 194,
          "no_link_of_any_kind": 536,
          "no_citation": 705
        }
      ]
    },
    "exhibit-3": {
      "title": "Answers with no hotel website link compared with answers with no hotel website citation",
      "type": "chart",
      "data_ref": "exhibit-2"
    },
    "exhibit-4": {
      "title": "Per link: where each engine's citation links pointed",
      "type": "chart_and_table",
      "shares": {
        "ChatGPT": {
          "links": 2035,
          "publishers_and_other": 0.472,
          "hotel_and_brand": 0.256,
          "tripadvisor": 0.21,
          "google": 0.001,
          "ota_and_booking": 0.031,
          "yelp_reddit_youtube": 0.03
        },
        "Google AI Mode": {
          "links": 1173,
          "publishers_and_other": 0.02,
          "hotel_and_brand": 0.016,
          "tripadvisor": 0.003,
          "google": 0.957,
          "ota_and_booking": 0.003,
          "yelp_reddit_youtube": 0.001
        },
        "Gemini": {
          "links": 1167,
          "publishers_and_other": 0.624,
          "hotel_and_brand": 0.169,
          "tripadvisor": 0.0,
          "google": 0.0,
          "ota_and_booking": 0.155,
          "yelp_reddit_youtube": 0.052
        }
      }
    },
    "exhibit-5": {
      "title": "Google AI Mode hotel cards",
      "type": "chart",
      "cards": 1309,
      "answers_with_cards": 237,
      "hotel_website_in_card_data": 1303,
      "card_link_to_google": 794,
      "card_link_blank": 515,
      "card_link_to_hotel_website": 0,
      "answers_with_ads": 5,
      "ads": 9,
      "advertisers": {
        "Expedia": 4,
        "Booking.com": 3,
        "IHG Hotels & Resorts": 2
      }
    },
    "exhibit-6": {
      "title": "Recorded data provider for ChatGPT hotel map pins",
      "type": "chart",
      "pins": 1550,
      "answers_with_map": 235,
      "providers": {
        "Tripadvisor": 1472,
        "Yelp": 57,
        "Other": 21
      }
    },
    "exhibit-7": {
      "title": "Most frequently named hotel or hotels by destination",
      "type": "table",
      "rows": [
        {
          "destination": "Chicago",
          "november_leaders": [
            "The Peninsula Chicago"
          ],
          "answers_of_90": 69,
          "september_leader": "The Peninsula Chicago"
        },
        {
          "destination": "Honolulu",
          "november_leaders": [
            "Halekulani"
          ],
          "answers_of_90": 75,
          "september_leader": "Halekulani"
        },
        {
          "destination": "Los Angeles area",
          "november_leaders": [
            "Hotel Bel-Air"
          ],
          "answers_of_90": 47,
          "september_leader": "Hotel Bel-Air"
        },
        {
          "destination": "New York City",
          "november_leaders": [
            "Mandarin Oriental, New York",
            "The Greenwich Hotel"
          ],
          "answers_of_90": 36,
          "september_leader": "Mandarin Oriental, New York"
        },
        {
          "destination": "Greater Miami",
          "november_leaders": [
            "Faena Miami Beach"
          ],
          "answers_of_90": 58,
          "september_leader": "The Setai, Miami Beach"
        },
        {
          "destination": "Las Vegas",
          "november_leaders": [
            "Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas",
            "Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas"
          ],
          "answers_of_90": 63,
          "september_leader": "Wynn Las Vegas"
        },
        {
          "destination": "Orlando area",
          "november_leaders": [
            "The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes"
          ],
          "answers_of_90": 74,
          "september_leader": "Four Seasons Orlando"
        },
        {
          "destination": "Cancún and Costa Mujeres",
          "november_leaders": [
            "Atelier Playa Mujeres"
          ],
          "answers_of_90": 59,
          "september_leader": "Excellence Playa Mujeres"
        },
        {
          "destination": "Punta Cana",
          "november_leaders": [
            "Eden Roc Cap Cana"
          ],
          "answers_of_90": 57,
          "september_leader": "Tortuga Bay"
        },
        {
          "destination": "Los Cabos",
          "november_leaders": [
            "Montage Los Cabos"
          ],
          "answers_of_90": 71,
          "september_leader": "Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal"
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  "additional_observations": [
    {
      "topic": "lookalike pages",
      "observation": "In 27 of 300 ChatGPT answers (9.0%), background search results included third-party pages built on hotel-named web addresses. None appeared as a displayed citation."
    }
  ],
  "publisher_disclosure": {
    "agr_publishes_hotel_rankings": true,
    "agr_sells_ai_visibility_services": true,
    "inclusion_can_be_purchased": false,
    "contact": "info@americasgreatresorts.net",
    "data_availability": "Available upon request",
    "capture_fields": [
      "engine",
      "destination",
      "question",
      "run",
      "collection time",
      "hotels named",
      "displayed citation links",
      "answer-text hotel website links",
      "map pin providers",
      "hotel card website and link fields",
      "ads"
    ]
  },
  "interpretation_limits": [
    "One collection day; results can change when questions are repeated.",
    "Measures hotels named and links present, not clicks, traffic or bookings.",
    "Hotels named are matched to a verified list; hotels outside it are not counted.",
    "September and November used different collection methods; link-share comparisons are directional only."
  ],
  "related_research": [
    {
      "title": "Which Hotels Do AI Engines Recommend? A Study of 10 Destinations",
      "url": "https://www.americasgreatresorts.net/ai-hotel-recommendations-research/",
      "date": "2026-09-27",
      "pooled": false
    },
    {
      "title": "AI Hotel Recommendations: Who Gets the Link?",
      "url": "https://www.americasgreatresorts.net/ai-hotel-recommendation-links/",
      "date": "2026-09-28",
      "pooled": false
    },
    {
      "title": "Does AI Recommend the Same Hotels Five Weeks Later?",
      "url": "https://www.americasgreatresorts.net/ai-hotel-recommendations-five-weeks-later/",
      "date": "2026-11-02",
      "pooled": false
    },
    {
      "title": "The AGR Luxury Hotel AI Visibility Index",
      "url": "https://www.americasgreatresorts.net/ai-visibility-index/",
      "date": "2026-07-29",
      "pooled": false
    }
  ]
}